


Cabin Fever

by LittleFeather5



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Dangan Ronpa Spoilers, Death, Execution, Fan Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), Fangan Ronpa, Hope's Peak Academy (Dangan Ronpa), Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Murder, Murder Mystery, Other, POV Third Person, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-15 23:42:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 63,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28572465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleFeather5/pseuds/LittleFeather5
Summary: He was on his way to Hope's Peak Academy, but he woke up in an abandoned cabin near a lake in the woods. How could the life of Sasaki Juro take such a drastic turn? Well, that's what he and his fifteen classmates would like to know too. But finding those answers is easier said than done when Monokuma reveals that they're trapped. There's only one way out: kill a classmate and get away with it.Who is willing to take the bet? Who falls victim to despair or the hand of someone they could have been friends with?No one knows, but the cabin fever is running high.
Relationships: OC/OC
Kudos: 4





	1. Prologue 1/2

_‘Today’s the day!’_ A boy with warm brown hair, one stubborn strand defying gravity itself, smiles as he looks up at the building that has risen in front of him. His brown eyes sparkle a little and he fidgets with his silver stud earrings while ignoring the letter his tanned hand is clutching tightly, since he isn’t going to take his eyes of the magnificent structure. Besides, he knows the words written on the paper by heart, having read them so many times when it first arrived on his doorstep.

_Sasaki Juro,_

_You have been scouted by Hope’s Peak Academy as the Ultimate Sketch Artist, which recognizes you as the most talented high-schooler in this field. We invite you to join us at Hope’s Peak Academy._

_Included is an orientation guide for Hope’s Peak Academy._

~~The Ultimate Sketch Artist: Sasaki Juro~~

When he had first put his sketches online, Juro hadn’t expected that he would be standing here today, about to enter the academy that is famous around the world for its excellent students. Is he ready to become one of them and hopefully leave a legacy? Yes. Yes, he is.

He adjusts his clothes one more time, wearing a white shirt with the black outlines of a landscape, a grey jacket, black trousers and grey sneakers. He carries a keychain that was made by his younger sister with pink, blue and yellow beads. To match with the keychain, he has put coloured shoelaces in his shoes, bright pink in one, bright blue in the other. He fidgets with the straps of his dark grey backpack and notices that a piece of paper is sticking out of one of his jacket’s breast pockets, mentally cursing that he didn’t get rid of all rubbish this morning. Twirling a pencil between his fingers, Juro looks around for a trash bin to throw the piece of paper, but when he doesn’t find one, he just puts it back in his pocket. He doesn’t want to litter after all.

He puts the pencil behind his ear again and takes out his phone to check his appearance one more time, wanting to make a good impression. His eyes fall on the birthmark on the side of his neck briefly while he does so. After a quick look, Juro concludes that he looks decent enough, aside from the paper still sticking out of his pocket, and puts his phone away again. He takes a deep breath and takes a step forward, finally setting foot on Hope’s Peak Academy’s school grounds.

Then the world starts spinning before everything goes black.

~*~

Juro slowly awakens with a terrible headache when something that sounds like an alarm goes off. He groans, gripping his head as he slowly opens his eyes and lets them adjust to the light. He blinks a few times and slowly starts taking in his surroundings. The space he is in looks cozy enough, with wooden walls and floors. The yellow light coming from the somewhat old-fashioned lamps give everything a warm tone. He is sitting on a comfortable, red couch, which is one of many in this room. On every couch are two people.

Wait, on every couch two people?

Now that Juro takes a better look, his brain finally registers the other fifteen students who seem to have been disturbed from a similiar unconscious state as the one he was in. A girl with beige blond hair in a braid has the most pissed-off look he has seen in a while, whereas a fairly young-looking boy with messy black hair has already bounced off his couch. A girl with crimson pink hair seems to be awakening a little slower than the others while the boy wearing a grey surgical mask next to her already has his eyes open and is looking around curiously.

“Eh… guys, what’s going on?” A girl with light blue hair asks while curling up like a ball underneath her white poncho. She is pulling her knees to her chest while sitting on the couch.

“So you don’t know either, huh?” A somewhat tall guy with a calm, gentle voice asks. He is standing in front of a couch, most likely the one he had been sitting on earlier “I wonder where my guitar went…”

“I’m sure we’ll figure something out as long as we work together, right, guys?” A girl with a very natural colour scheme clasps her hands together in front of her, smiling with her eyes closed. She adjusts the straw hat with flowers she is wearing, while saying, with the smile still on her face “It will all be okay.”

“Wait, hold up!” A boy with odd green goggles stuck between his hair points at a petite girl wearing some kind of lolita fashion “What is a possessed doll doing here?!” He grabs a peculiar flashlight from the belt around his waist, pointing it at the girl while taking a defensive stance “Fear not, everyone! I shall eliminate this ghost once and for all!”

The girl, who has her arms crossed and an eyebrow raised, now walks to the boy and grabs the flashlight, yanking it out of his hand “I’m not a doll.” She deadpans, causing him to screech.

“Shut up, both of you.” A girl with long black hair and a terrifying amount of knives on the belt around her waist has her arms crossed and a scowl on her face “I still have a headache. I don’t need two idiots screaming.” Juro makes a mental note to not get on her bad side.

“There’s only one idiot screaming.” The lolita retorts, narrowing her eyes slightly as if she’s challenging the taller girl.

“Hey!” The boy with goggles exclaims in offence.

“That’s him.” She jerks her thumb at him, still a neutral expression on her face as she doesn’t take her eyes off the dark-haired girl.

“Guys, no fighting here.” A tall, somewhat intimating guy with probably more tattoos than clear skin tries to calm the situation down a little, making a gesture with his hands “Let’s just introduce ourselves, then maybe everyone’s appearances will make a bit more sense.” He suggests with a kind smile on his face.

“Excellent idea!” A boy with blond hair and a pleasant aura agrees with a bright smile.

“Hey, before we do that.” A girl with shoulder-length brown hair holds up a hand to draw their attention. She grins and jerks her thumb at a nearby couch “One of us is still asleep. Seems she had a party the night before.”

The brunette gestured at a blue-haired girl wearing an outfit decorated with card symbols. Her body is completely relaxed and her eyes are closed, indicating that she’s indeed sound asleep even after the alarm. Only the rising and falling of her chest gives a sign that she’s, in fact, not dead.

“She slept through the alarm then…” A guy with dark brown hair and some serious eye bags mutters, slouching with his hands in the pockets of his hoodie.

“Wait, wait!” The tall girl with crimson pink hair exclaims loudly “Then she didn’t hear the alarm at all? Even I can’t do that.”

“I envy her ability…” The girl with the braid grumbles with a frown and her brows furrowed. She yawns again and groans, throwing her head back “It’s way too early for any of this shit.”

“Let’s just wake her up.” The boy with the surgical mask suggests, he has a soft voice that’s nice to listen to.

“I’ll go wake her up then.” Juro offers. If they wanted to introduce themselves, it would be useful for this girl to be awake too. Otherwise they would have to repeat all the introductions again _‘Still, it’s odd that she wasn’t awakened by such a loud alarm. It’s almost like…’_

Juro doesn’t finish the thought, instead he walks to the girl. Figuring that sounds won’t wake her up, he takes a hold of her shoulder and gently starts shaking her small frame.

Against his expectations, the girl opens her eyes almost immediately. She blinks a few times before she tenses up. Her eyes dart around the room while she clenches her fists in her lap. Juro figures it’s because of waking up only to see fifteen strangers looking at her curiously, but she somehow seems to become just a little more relaxed when her eyes settle on a window. The tension is thick in the room, since no one is saying anything.

“Good morning, miss!” The excited boy with black hair exclaims, he has been full of energy since the moment he woke up and has now jumped in front of the girl “You were asleep the whole time so we decided to wake you up! Did you sleep well?”

The girl blinks a few times before she leans forward and pinches the bridge of her nose, sighing softly. Her lack of any verbal response makes a few people exchange a look and shrug. Then she starts tapping her ears before making an X-shape with her arms.

The girl with crimson pink hair seems to be the first one to realize what the gestures mean, because she snaps her fingers as if having a sudden realization and says “Oh, I’ve got it, I’ve got it. I think she’s trying to tell us that she’s deaf!”

“Oh no, poor thing.” The girl with the straw hat puts her hands in front of her open mouth while gasping those words.

“Then, should we get pens and paper to communicate with her?” The guy who muttered about his guitar offered, tapping his chin lightly.

“Eh, I have pencils and paper, but-” Before Juro can finish his sentence, the pink-haired girl cuts him off.

“There’s no need! I know sign language.” She smiles before turning to the girl with blue hair, who has gotten off the couch and is now standing with her arms crossed as she closely follows everything with her eyes. The tall girl starts moving her hands *Hey, I’m Zayasu Kaori. Are you deaf?*

The girl’s eyes widen slightly before she signs back *You know sign language?*

Kaori nods before turning to the others briefly to say “I can translate things, if you want.”

“Please tell her that we want to make introductions.” The guy with tattoos asks with a bright grin.

“Will do, will do.” Kaori smiles and turns to the deaf girl again *We’d like to introduce everyone to each other here, is that okay with you? I can translate things for you.*

*Fine by me.* She responds before crossing her arms again and looking around.

“Time to split up and make introductions then!” The guy with blonde hair who had a certain aura surrounding them suggests with a charismatic smile.

Everyone nods and small groups are slowly being formed, with Kaori sticking by the side of the deaf girl. Not wanting to be the one standing awkwardly by the sidelines, Juro quickly approaches a nearby person, which was unfortunately the girl with knives. She has long, straight black hair that are tied in twin tails with purple hair ties. She has purple eyes and somewhat tanned skin. Her outfit consists of a purple jacket with a dark grey shirt on a black skirt, which are combined with black tights and black knee-high boots that have high heels. As if that wasn’t edgy enough for her, she also has a black choker and black fingerless gloves. Her knives, which are fairly small but still look deadly, are hanging on the dark grey belt around her waist.

“Kasai Arisa, the Ultimate Knife Thrower, in case you couldn’t guess.” She grumbles with her arms crossed.

~~The Ultimate Knife Thrower: Kasai Arisa~~

“Don’t get on my nerves, and I won’t throw one of these at your head, got it?”

“Y-yes.” Juro stutters before swallowing the lump that has formed in his throat. He wasn’t planning to get on her nerves either way, having realized already that someone carrying weapons and who has the skills to kill him instantly would be a bad idea.

“Are you going to tell me your name and talent or do I need to make you?” Arisa asks while fidgeting with one of the knives on her belt. Juro really hopes that it is just a habit and not an urge to stab him.

“Sasaki J-Juro, I’m the Ultimate Sketch Artist.” He manages to choke out, fidgeting with his earring again _‘Would it be rude to leave now?’_

Fortunately, he doesn’t have to find the answer to that himself because after a firm nod Arisa turns on her heel and walks away with a still irritated expression. Juro breathes a sigh of relief when she leaves, being around her had really put him on the edge.

He really hopes not all people here will make him that nervous.

Juro looks around and joins a small group of three people the enthusiastic boy, the brown-haired girl and the guy with golden blond hair and a certain aura.

“Welcome, new acquaintance.” The blonde speaks up with a smile, his warm brown eyes shine a little and he has fair skin. He wears a white button-up with a blue tie that seems to be from a high school, most likely his former one, black trousers and black sneakers. He has a silver bracelet and two silver rings on his left hand. He puts a hand in front of his chest while making his introduction “My name is Takita Daichi, I am the Ultimate School Idol. It’s nice to meet you.”

~~The Ultimate School Idol: Takita Daichi~~

“Sasaki Juro, the Ultimate Sketch Artist. It’s nice to meet you too, Takita-kun.” Juro says, feeling a lot more at ease than he did around Arisa _‘I guess that explains the aura.’_

“I’m Uehara Kaya, the Ultimate Candle Maker!” The girl holds up a hand in a wave while placing the other on her hip, a bright grin is on her face.

~~The Ultimate Candle Maker: Uehara Kaya~~

“And while my talent may sound boring and old-fashioned to most, I’m always down for a party.” She says, now having both hands on her hips and leaning on her right leg while tilting her head back slightly “Besides, I make candles for anyone, including celebrities. They’re high quality.”

Kaya’s shoulder-length chocolate brown hair has light curls and she has dark brown eyes and lightly tanned skin. She is wearing a loose cream-coloured off-the-shoulder shirt, with small flames at the bottom of both the upper and the lower layer, on denim shirts with knee-high light brown boots with low heels. Around her right wrist is a simple rope bracelet with a red, a blue and a yellow bead, which matches with the keychain on her light brown waste bag.

 _‘I wouldn’t have expected the Ultimate Candle Maker to be this… lively.’_ Juro smiles a little at the thought. Kaya seems like a fun person to be around, although he is fairly certain that he would get tired after a long time of being surrounded by so much energy.

“My turn!” The shorter, energetic boy exclaims, holding his fists in front of his chest in excitement, his words carry a bit of an accent when he talks.

He has messy black hair, purple eyes and light brown skin. He wears a white button-up underneath a dark blue jacket, which seems a little too big on him even with his sleeves rolled up so they don’t cover his hands. His black tie isn’t done all that properly, which might be part of the look or because he doesn’t really know how to tie it. He also has black trousers and black sneakers, carrying a black backpack.

“I’m Kim Jihun, and I’m the Ultimate Maknae!” He beams with pride, placing his hands on his hips and grinning “Born and raised in Korea, but I moved to Japan when Hope’s Peak Academy scouted me!”

~~The Ultimate Maknae: Kim Jihun~~

Juro doesn’t really get how someone can be the best at being the youngest. However, one look at Jihun and anyone can easily see that the boy is still fairly young and childish, so maybe it makes sense in a way.

“It’s nice to meet all of you, guys. I should probably go talk to the others now, I’ll see you around.” Juro waves with a smile as he begins walking away, a gesture returns by all three of them in their own ways. Daichi adds a wink, while Kaya just has her signature grin and Jihun jumps in the air, waving with both arms. Juro really enjoyed talking to them and part of him doesn’t want to leave yet, but he wants to introduce himself to everybody quickly so they can figure out what is going on.

This time, he joins a group of four people. The girl with the straw hat, the boy with the face mask, the guy who had been muttering about how his guitar went missing earlier and the girl with light blue hair who’s wearing the poncho.

“Hello, what’s your name, if I may ask?” The girl with the straw hat asks, a kind smile on her face as she holds a fist in front of her chest. Two strands of her long, light brown hair are tied behind her head with a pastel green ribbon. She has dark brown eyes and fair skin. Her outfit consists of a white blouse, a pastel green blazer, a beige high-waist skirt and sandals. Around her wrist is a watch that looks like the earth while she also has an anklet with a small pearl.

“Sasaki Juro, I’m the Ultimate Sketch Artist.” He introduces himself with a smile. While the other group had been energetic, this one seems to consist of calm, kind souls “And you?”

“I’m Ishikawa Mana, I’m the Ultimate Environmental Scientist.”

~~The Ultimate Environmental Scientist: Ishikawa Mana~~

She folds her hands on front of her chest, like she’s about to say a prayer, her expression falters a little as it becomes more dejected as she looks at the ground “The environment is in grave danger, so it’s my job as the Ultimate Environmental Scientist to convince people to save our planet.” She looks up again, a smile back on her face “But I believe humanity is capable of saving the earth, we just need to work together.”

 _‘That was motivational, but kind of… out of nowhere?’_ Juro thinks to himself, but doesn’t comment on it “I see.”

“Let’s continue with our introductions.” Mana lowers her hands again and looks at the boy with a face mask next to her.

He has black hair, which is somewhat spiky, green eyes with an amber ring around the pupils and fair skin. Other than the grey face mask, he also wears a faded green shirt underneath a light grey jacket with black trousers and grey sneakers. He has a scarf just a few shades darker than his shirt wrapped around his neck.

“Oh, you wanted me to introduce myself next?” The boy asks after receiving four expectant looks for a minute. When Mana nods he clears his throat “My name is Fukui Youta, I carry the title of the Ultimate Natural Healer.

~~The Ultimate Natural Healer: Fukui Youta~~

“I specialize in giving people advice for treating symptoms through natural means.” Although his face was mostly hidden by his face mask, Youta’s eyes have a kind look, like he’s smiling underneath the mask “If anyone would like to introduce themselves next, feel free to do so.”

The other guys nods “Then I suppose I’ll take my turn. My name is Yukimura Kenji, I am the Ultimate Classical Guitarist.”

~~The Ultimate Classical Guitarist: Yukimura Kenji~~

“I had arrived at the school with my instrument, but it seems to be gone now. So if anyone happens to come across it, please let me know.” Kenji smiles at the group, putting one hand in his pocket while gesturing with the other as he talks.

Kenji has short, light brown hair that’s somewhat messy, but he still manages to pull it off. He has amber eyes and tanned skin. His outfit consists of a white shirt with a mint green hoodie, which he leaves unzipped, black trousers and white sneakers. As for accessoires, he has a silver necklace with two tags, both with carvings Juro can’t quite read, and a black wristband.

Juro nods in response to Kenji’s request to keep an eye out for his guitar, before turning to the girl who has yet to introduce herself.

She has light blue hair in a bob cut and ice blue eyes. Her skin is pale but her cheeks have a rosy colour, and the tip of her nose as well, but less noticable. Her white poncho is trimmed with fur and she combines it with a light grey sweater, a slightly darker grey skirt, light blue tights and knee-high white boots. In her ears are silver earrings that seem to resemble small snowflakes.

The girl is fidgeting with her fingers and shifts her weight from one feet to the other before choking out her introduction, her voice is soft and sweet “I’m Shikata Chinami. My talent is the Ultimate Figure Skater.”

~~The Ultimate Figure Skater: Shikata Chinami~~

She folds her hands in front of her chest, a small smile appearing on her face “It’s nice to meet all of you, everyone.”

After giving Chinami’s statement a positive response, Juro bids the small group goodbye and turns to look for more people. He notices Kaori and the deaf girl don’t seem to be talking to someone, so he walks towards them.

Kaori gives him a bright grin and waves before tapping the girl, who is occupied with the cards in her hands, on her shoulder. She halts her fast movements and glances up, putting her cards away upon seeing Juro, most likely because she needs her hands for communication.

“Hey, hey, what’s your name?” Kaori asks, moving her hands along as she talks to translate everything to sign language.

“Sasaki Juro, I’m the Ultimate Sketch Artist.” He introduces himself, signing the words as he talks.

While Kaori looks at him with wide eyes, the deaf girl tilts her head to the side a little and signs *So you know sign language too, huh? Well, that makes communication easier for me.*

After having recovered from the initial shock, Kaori starts signing too *Let’s communicate this way, then, if we’re all fluent.* She sighs, adjusting her black-rimmed glasses *You should’ve said that you know sign language earlier.*

Kaori’s wavy, crimson pink hair falls just past her shoulders and she has steel blue eyes and fair skin. She wears a pastel blue button up underneath a white lab coat that has a red plus on its pocket with a black skirt that has white trims, white knee-high socks and black sneakers. Her hair is pinned back on the left side with two hair pins, a white one and a pastel blue one, both with a red plus. There are two pens on the pocket of her lab coat.

Juro suspects her talent has something to do with the medical field.

*Anyways, I know your name, Zayasu-san, but may I ask what your talent is?* Juro asks with a smile, having to look up at Kaori since she has a fairly impressive height, which contrasts sharply with that of the girl next to her, who seems almost a foot shorter.

*Oh, I’m the Ultimate Otologist.* Kaori responds with a proud grin.

~~The Ultimate Otologist: Zayasu Kaori~~

*It’s the main reason I know sign language, since otologists are specialized in medical issues that affect the ears, so a lot of my patients prefer communicating this way.*

Juro feels a tap on his arm and looks in the direction, noticing it’s the deaf girl.

She has curly azure blue hair that falls a few centimetres past her chin, light grey eyes and pale skin. The base of her outfit is rather simple, consisting of a long-sleeved black off-the-shoulder top, a white skirt and black lace-up boots with blue laces that match her hair colour. However, she wears a lot of accessoires, a long dice earring that’s black with white dots is in her left ear and she also has a black choker, a chain belt with charms of all four card symbols in blue and a black thigh back with a blue ace of spades.

Juro can tell that her talent has something to do with cards, but he doesn’t know what. The ultimate gambler or something? But wouldn’t that be difficult with her being deaf? Or perhaps her other senses are more sensitive and she’s better at focusing because of her disability?

 _‘Okay, Juro, stop it.’_ He tells himself after noticing his thoughts went on a long trip in the complete opposite direction _‘She’s probably about to tell you what her talent is.’_

*Yuuma Ryoko, the Ultimate Cardist.* She signs, still with her neutral expression.

~~The Ultimate Cardist: Yuuma Ryoko~~

*Cardistry is the art of flourishing cards.* Ryoko adds a very brief explanation *Was that all?*

 _‘So Yuuma-san is not very social, huh…?_ ’ Juro thinks to himself _‘She may have a hard time being around Zayasu-san so much then, since she seems quite energetic.’_ Then he nods in response to Ryoko’s question *Yes, that was all. I’ll see you two around.*

He waves at the two girls while walking away, a gesture Kaori happily returns, while Ryoko has already returned to her cards, skillfully moving them to form extravant figures.

The next person Juro approaches is the boy that slouches and hasn’t said much. He has dark brown hair with long bangs that cover his left eye, red eyes with pretty serious eye bags and very pale skin. His blue hoodie is a little to big for his skinny frame and he wears it with grey trousers and sneakers that are a slightly darker shade of grey with the shoelaces left untied. He carries around a blue backpack with patches of characters from different games.

Juro introduces himself to the boy, who glances up at him, he had been looking at the ground with his hands in his pockets before the sketch artist approached “Who are you?” Juro asks, with a friendly smile.

“Ebisu Hachiro, the Ultimate Clown.” He responds quickly, almost too quickly like he has rehearsed it in his head.

~~The Ultimate Clown: Ebisu Hachiro~~

_‘The Ultimate Clown sure looks… interesting.’_ Juro thinks to himself, his smile feeling a bit more strained as he does his best to remain polite _‘I wouldn’t have expected anyone with that title to look so… well, to wear such faded colours.’_ However, instead of voicing his questions, Juro just says “Sounds like a fun talent, telling jokes and doing silly stuff.”

“I guess…” Hachiro mutters, his hands still in his pockets “Though a lot of people nowadays are scared of clowns thanks to horror movies.”

“Ah, I can imagine why that would bother you.” Juro frowns slightly before flashing an empathic smile “I’m sure the panic will fade.”

“I doubt it…”

 _‘He doesn’t seem to be very optimistic about this.’_ Juro bites his lip, trying to find something to say that could cheer up Hachiro “Hey, you’re the _Ultimate_ Clown, right, not just any clown. I believe that you’ll find a way to make even those who are scared laugh.”

“Thanks, I guess…” Hachiro looks away and Juro frowns, realizing that the boy doesn’t seem to believe it himself “I’ve wasted enough of your time already, shouldn’t you introduce yourself to the others?”

“I… I probably should, if you insist.” Juro responds, a little down after failing to make Hachiro feel better. He smiles on more time “I’ll see you around, Ebisu-kun.”

He waves and joins the small group of four people he has yet to meet, the boy with goggles, the lolita girl, the guy with tattoos and the girl who seriously dislikes waking up. At least the situation between the first two seems to have defused a lot, even though the boy is still giving the lolita skeptic glances and keeps his distance.

“Hi!” Juro gives them a friendly wave accompanied by a closed-eyed smile before introducing himself.

“Oh, hello, new friend!” The guy with goggles shifts his attention from the lolita girl to Juro.

The boy’s dark, faded blue hair is a mess but his grey eyes seem bright from happiness and his pale skin still appears to be healthy. He wears a dark grey button up underneath a black jacket on jeans with brown sneakers. On the brown belt around his waist isn’t just the flashlight from earlier, but other peculiar equipment as well and he carries a dark grey backpack around too. A small part of a scar is visible on his the side of his neck and seems to continue underneath his clothing.

“My name is Asada Minoru, and I’m the Ultimate Ghost Hunter!”

~~The Ultimate Ghost Hunter: Asada Minoru~~

“It’s my job to protect my new classmates from any ghosts, so let me know if you see any.” Minoru twirls the flashlight around in his hand while his unoccupied hand rests on his hip “At your service.”

“Don’t mind this idiot, he’s just superstitious.” The small lolita girl huffs, twirling a strand of light blond hair around her finger.

“I’m not!”

“Anyways,” She ignores an offended Minoru, who has his hands clenched into fists in front of his chest. The girl brushes a strand of hair behind her shoulder “I am Hanai Eri, the Ultimate Doll Maker.”

~~The Ultimate Doll Maker: Hanai Eri~~

Eri has her long, wavy hair in pigtails tied with pink ribbons, lavender eyes and fair skin that kind of resembles that of a porcelain doll. Her outfit consists of a lolita-style dress that’s a light shade of pink and has white puffy sleeves, white knee-high socks and light pink Mary Janes with small bows. She has a white lacy choker and handcuffs made of the same material. In her ears are golden earrings with rose quartz and she wears a matching necklace as well.

“I’m still questioning how I ended up being stuck with this weirdo.” Eri sighs, causing Minoru to puff out his cheeks like a hamster and cross his arms, protesting silently.

“And I’m wondering why the fuck I’m stuck with _both_ of you. It’s too early for this shit.” The other girl yawns, popping a few joints in her shoulders. You would expect someone to be awake by now, but it seems she isn’t “Anyways, the name’s Nakahara Mai, the Ultimate Archer, nice to meet you…” She trails off and yawns again.

~~The Ultimate Archer: Nakahara Mai~~

She wears her thick, beige blond hair in a french braid. She has red eyes and tanned skin. Two grey feathers with red tips are pinned in her hair just above her right ear, which has a golden helix piercing. She wears a long-sleeved white shirt, which has loose sleeves, and a brown corset belt on a red skirt and sneakers that probably used to be white. There is a quiver that’s brown decorated with red and gold swung over her shoulder, filled with arrows, and when she lifts her arms above her head to stretch her muscles, her right sleeve moves to reveal a black ink tattoo of an arrow.

“Wait, you have a tattoo? Can I see it?” The guy with his own fair share of tattoos asks with a bright smile.

He has short, spiky silver hair, brown eyes and lightly tanned skin with freckles across the bridge of his nose and his cheeks. He wears a black shirt on ripped jeans with a brown belt and brown sneakers. As for accessoires he had a black beanie, a long silver necklace, a black wristband and a silver ring. While he talks, Juro notices something silver in his mouth as well, probably a piercing.

“Hm? Yeah, sure.” Mai mutters, holding out her arm and lifting her sleeve so he can look at it.

“Amazing, your tattoo artist definitely knew what they were doing. Such a fine piece of art.” He is smiling with his eyes closed and has his arms crossed. He seems to realize something because his eyes shoot open “I haven’t even introduced myself yet, how rude of me. My name is Akiyama Hikaru. My talent, as the Ultimate Tattoo Artist, probably explains my interest. Nice to meet you all.”

~~The Ultimate Tattoo Artist: Akiyama Hikaru~~

Juro smiles, happy to have met all of his new classmates. They were a very… unique bunch to say the least, but he was looking forward to getting to know everyone. Besides, this was a class of ultimates, he can’t exactly expect them to be very normal. These people most likely had more extreme lives, similiar to his story but yet very different. Juro couldn’t help but be filled with curiosity when it came to everyone’s stories.

But then something new captures his attention.

“Upupupu~”


	2. Prologue 2/2

Juro turns to the source of the sound, only to see a monochrome teddy bear suddenly sitting on a desk. Had it been there before or is he just noticing it now? He hasn’t seen it earlier, which is quite strange. On the other hand, most of his attention was occupied by the other fifteen ultimates in this room and their very curious predicament.

Minoru, who had been spinning his flashlight around in his hand, points said object in random directions, turning it on as a bundle of green light replaces the warm tone that had been there earlier “What was that? Show yourself, ghost!”

“Asada-kun, I don’t think there’s a ghost here. Quit it with your superstition, it’s annoying.” Eri states bluntly with a blank expression.

“Then where did that sound come from?” Mana wonders, fidgeting with a strand of her hair that’s hanging over her shoulder, her eyes are slightly wider than usual as she looks around.

“Wait, wait! Yuuma-chan is trying to tell us something!” Kaori announces, holding her hands in front of her with her arms stretched as she gestures at everyone to draw their attention “And I have something to say too.”

Ryoko glances at the group, before moving her hands to form a sentence *I could feel vibrations in my feet. A nearby physical object made the sound you guys apperantly heard, and it must be connected with the floor.*

Kaori nods and translates the sentence for the rest of the group before adding “I told her there was a weird sound.” She folds her hands behind her back while shifting her weight from one leg to the other, seemingly unable to stand still “And the sound came from my left, so over there!” Kaori points in the direction.

The only thing there is the odd plushie.

“Zayasu-san, the only object that stands out to me is the teddy bear.” Daichi says, adjusting his tie a little, straightening the garment.

“Are you sure that’s where the sound came from?” Youta asks, pulling his mask up a bit further while holding his other hand up in the air.

Kaori narrows her blue eyes at the natural healer while placing her hands on her hips. Even with her colourful clothing, the otologist’s height still makes her come across as a threat “Are you doubting me?”

“G-guys, don’t fight please…” Chinami squeaks, holding her hands close to her chest as she seems to shrink on spot.

“Yeah, please don’t.” Hachiro adds, holding his upper arm while glancing at the two from behind his bangs “I don’t like it when people fight…”

“Shut it, all of you.” Arisa hisses, drawing a knife and pointing it forward, at Kaori and Youta, narrowing her purple eyes at them “You’re wasting my time.”

“How about we just check if the plushie has a speaker function?” Kenji suggests, holding his necklace with one hand as he speaks “That way we can confirm whether or not it was the source of the sound. Otherwise we could just look for something else that could have produced it.” He sighs, closing his eyes briefly “Yuuma-san is deaf, which means that, unlike us, she won’t be distracted by other sounds and would just have felt vibrations.”

Juro nods in agreement “And Zayasu-san’s talent as the Ultimate Otologist might make her better at localizing sounds than us.”

Kenji nods “You’ve caught on quickly, Sasaki-kun.”

“Yay, I believe in Zayasu-chan and Yuuma-chan!” Jihun cheers, putting his hands in the air while a bright smile is firmly in place.

“Shall we check the bear then?” Kaya offers with a smile.

“Good luck, I’ll be cheering you on…” Mai mutters, already sitting on a couch again. She had her thumbs up for only a second before yawning.

“Okay, let’s do it!” Hikaru grins as he clenches a fist in front of his chest.

Kaya and Hikaru walk side by side to the odd plushie that has been sitting on the table the whole time, being positioned so it looks like he is observing them. The candle maker is the first to reach out to it, when it suddenly jumps up, holding its claws up while looking… angry “Hey, hands off!”

“Uehara-san, careful!” Hikaru immediately pushes Kaya behind him while taking a defensive stand, narrowing his eyes at the plushie that is now suddenly walking and even talking like it’s a living being.

“What the fuck is that?” Kaori wonders out loud, completely rigid from shock while she stands there with her eyes wide and arms crossed.

“P-possesion!” Minoru screeches, pointing his flashlight at the bear, catching it in the bundle of green light.

“Hey, get that light out of my face.” The bear mutters and continues when Eri has grabbed the flashlight from Minoru’s hands and turned it off “Much better. Geez, what a way to greet your principal.”

“Principal?” Hachiro repeats, tilting his head to the side while holding the straps of his backpack.

“Pardon my lack of proper introduction.” The bear clears its throat “My name is Monokuma and I am your principal.”

“Woah! An adorable plushie is our principal!” Jihun says with stars in his eyes.

Monokuma rubs the back of his neck “While I must agree that I am very adorable…” His face suddenly returns to a more sinister look, the one he had when lashing out at Kaya and Hikaru “I need to teach you guys some manners first.”

“Chill out. It’s not our fault you’re a random plushie on a table with a dumb laugh.” Mai folds her arms behind her head while being sprawled out on the couch.

“Perhaps this is what our principal means with us having no manners.” Daichi smiles nervously while scratching his cheek.

“What he said.” Monokuma huffs in annoyance “And stop interrupting me with your unnecessary comments. I came here to give you some information about this field trip.”

“Field trip? So this is a field trip? How long does it even last?” Juro repeats, having forgotten Monokuma’s statement about not interrupting him already _‘This is a very… unique way to arrive on a field trip. Maybe it’s because we’re ultimates so everything is unique? Do I even have enough stuff packed to last the whole trip? I don’t remember…’_

“What did I just say?” Monokuma gets red in the face again while showing his claws, making Juro swallow nervously “Anyways, as for the duration of this trip…” He seems to be thinking for a moment before saying “Forever.”

Kaya blinks a few times in confusion “Wait, what?”

“Forever?” A bead of sweat rolls down Kenji’s forehead as he grits his teeth.

“You can’t be serious.” Eri says with a blank expression.

A little while after the others have said their sentences, Youta asks “Is this a joke…?”

“Nope, I’m very serious. I’m a bear, I don’t lie about such important matters.” Monokuma rubs the back of his head again, but this time with a very pleased expression.

“So, being a bear makes one super duper honest?” Jihun asks, tilting his head to the side while holding his hands, now covered by his sleeves, to his chin.

“I don’t think it does…” Mana tells him, fidgeting with her watch as she does her best to give the younger student a comforting smile.

“Hold on, wait a second.” Hikaru says “We can’t just stay here forever, what about our families?”

“And our friends?” Daichi adds.

“Yeah, we have people back home who’ll miss us.” Juro agrees, placing a hand over his chest as he frowns _‘Who does this bear think he is? Deciding we’ll stay here forever just like that?’_

“Let us go or I will make sure whatever you say next will become your last words.” Arisa says with a dark look in her eyes, holding her throwing knives in both hands, looking very eager to let one, or probably both, pierce Monokuma’s head.

“Violence towards the principal is stricly forbidden.” Monokuma says with a red face again and he has a staring contest with Arisa for a while until the knife thrower scoffs, looking away “Much better. Now, there is one way for you guys to leave, but it has a condition.”

“What is this way you’re talking about?” Kaya asks, her fists hang clenched by her sides as she looks straight at Monokuma, her gaze not wavering once.

“By killing one of your classmates, of course.”

It’s silent for a moment, only to be followed by total chaos.

“What?” Mana breathes, her eyes wide as she trembles.

Hikaru yells the same word while Youta blinks multiple times to fully process the words. Mai is sitting up a little straighter and Jihun is openly sobbing. Arisa grips her knives a little too tightly, making her knuckles turn white, and presses her lips together in a thin line. Everyone talks and screams different things, making the words mingle into a big blur of white noise.

 _‘Killing someone… is the only way to go home.’_ Juro stares wide-eyed into space, completely frozen _‘No… there has to be another way, right? Right?’_

A tug on his sleeve draws the sketch artist out of his inner darkness and he looks into the cool grey eyes of the Ultimate Cardist. Ryoko holds her hands up to make sure he is actually looking at the words she signs *What is going on? It’s a pandemonium out there and you look like you just saw a ghost.*

 _‘Right, Yuuma-san can’t hear Monokuma’s voice or read his lips.’_ Juro swallows nervously as a droplet of sweat rolls down his cheek. He forces a smile on his face and signs *Monokuma, that bear and apperantly our principal, announced that we’re on an eternal field trip and we can only leave if we kill a classmate. But don’t worry, I’m sure nothing will happen.* He isn’t so sure at all, but he wants to be.

*I’m not worried.* Ryoko simple responds, but Juro can’t tell from her neutral expression whether or not she’s genuine. Her hands don’t move for a moment before she simple adds *That explains a lot, thanks.*

Ryoko drops her hands, letting them hang by her side as she simply observes the group. Juro heaves a sigh and turns to look ahead as well, biting his lip as he tries to keep the negative thoughts at bay, which is easier said than done.

He flinches when Kaori’s voice pierces through the white noise “Everyone, shut it!” Silence suddenly washes over the group as they all turn to look at her, even Monokuma remains quiet. The otologist is fuming, with her fists clenched by her side and a frown on her face. The corners of her mouth are turned downwards, a sharp contrast with her bright and cheerful persona Juro had met earlier “I can’t hear anything at all when everyone is talking all at once! And there’s no need to talk all at once because we don’t have to panic.” Kaori points at Monokuma, glaring at him “We won’t kill a classmate just because a stupid plushie is telling us to!”

“Stupid plushie? I’m hurt…” Monokuma sulks.

“Zayasu-san is right, guys. Killing is wrong.” Mana agrees, placing a hand over her chest and clenching it into a fist.

“We won’t kill, no matter what.” Youta adds, frowning at Monokuma.

Now that Kaori is occupied with challenging Monokuma, rightfully so, Juro quickly moves his hands, piecing together sentences, so Ryoko can follow what’s being said. It’s hard for someone who can’t hear to read the lips of everyone in the group, plus there is no way for her to understand Monokuma other than through translation.

“Guys, before you go ripping Monokuma apart,” Mai speaks up “I wanna know what that condition is.”

Eri nods, still having Minoru’s flashlight in her hand “So do I. We need all information available to figure out what exactly is going on.”

“That might be a good idea, although we aren’t going to listen to him.” Kenji agrees, having his arms crossed and a calm aura surrounding him. He maintains a neutral expression.

“I’m glad you asked!” Monokuma holds his paws together like an excited child “Killing someone isn’t enough, you have to get away with the murder too.” Another silence washes over the group, but before chaos can break out again, their principal continues “When someone kills a fellow student, they become the blackened and have to face off against the spotless students in a Class Trial. If the majority votes correctly, only the blackened will be punished for disrupting the harmony.” Monokuma’s expression suddenly becomes darker when saying the next sentence “However, if you vote for the wrong person, I will punish all the remaining spotless students and the blackened gets to leave this trip.”

“And what is this punishment…?” Hachiro asks.

“Why, it’s execution, of course!”

“E-execution?” Chinami repeats with wide eyes, looking like she’s about to faint, while Kenji helps her remain on her feet by placing a supportive but firm hand on her shoulder.

“Didn’t I make myself clear enough when I said execution?” Monokuma gets a little red in the face before becoming much more cheerful again “So go ahead and discover your murderous potential! You can kill anyone you like, any way you like any time you like! So get this killing school trip started already! The school regulations are in your monopads that everyone received, so make sure you follow them. Happy killing!” And with that, Monokuma is gone, simply gone.

Hikaru rushes forward, checking every spot around the table but after a while he shakes his head “He’s gone.”

Suddenly, a beeping sound Juro doesn’t recognize comes from his backpack, and the sound seems to be coming from all the other students as well, filling the entire room. Kaori hisses through her teeth and covers her ears while closing her eyes tightly.

“Are you okay, Zayasu-san?” Juro asks, while unzipping his backpack to find the source of the sound.

She nods, still frowning slightly but doing her best to smile even though there’s still a lot of strain on her face, like she’s in pain “Yeah, yeah. Sensitive ears, that’s all.”

“Okay.” Juro nods, not knowing what else he can say. He rummages through his backpack, coming across his sketchbook and different pencils, only to end up finding an odd monochrome tablet. He is pretty sure it hadn’t been there before. Perhaps this is the monopad Monokuma was refering to. Juro frowns when he can’t seem to find his phone anywhere _‘Did I forget to pack it this morning?’_

It wouldn’t be the first time he forgot his phone, but it still seemed to be an odd coincidence. Especially considering Juro checked his bag multiple times this morning, and even let his mother check it too to make sure he really hadn’t forgotten anything.

Figuring it’s probably useless to freak out, he could have lost his phone on the way for all he knows, Juro turns on his monopad. His name appears on the previously black screen before it unlocks. Trying to navigate through the device, he taps on the tab that says ‘regulations’.

Regulations:

_#1 Students must remain on the trip’s grounds during their stay._

_#2 With minimal restrictions, you are allowed to explore the grounds at your discretion._

_#3 If a murder takes place, the remaining students must participate in the Class Trial._

_#4 If the blackened is exposed during the trial, they alone will be executed._

_#5 If the blackened isn’t exposed, all the remaining students will be executed._

_#6 If the blackened survives the trial, they will be forgiven for disrupting the harmony and allowed to leave the trip._

_#7 The body discovery announcement will play when three or more students discover a body._

_#8 Violence towards Monokuma, the headmaster, is stricly prohibited._

_#9 Destroying any property of the grounds without explicit permission from the headmaster is stricly prohibited, this includes monitors and surveillance cameras._

_#10 Students who violate these rules will be immediately punished._

_#11 Additional rules may be added at the headmaster’s discretion._

Juro glances up from his Monopad, holding it firmly with both hands as he looks around at his classmates. Reading these regulations on a screen made the severity of their situation really settles in. Everyone looks at each other with either hardened or fearful expressions, some are clenching their fists, while others are biting their lip. Each person here looks as if everyone surrounding them is a murderer out for their life.

A droplet of sweat rolls down Juro’s cheek as he bites his lip, gripping the monopad in his hands so tightly that his knuckles turn white. Is this their fate? To stay here or kill each other until only one person remains?

 _‘There has to be another way out.’_ Juro presses his lips together into a thin line and looks ahead _‘I just hope the others realize this…’_

**End of prologue**

_Sixteen/Sixteen_


	3. Chapter 1 - Daily Life 1/3

“Now what?” Eri wonders out loud, somehow maintaining a straight face through it all.

“Now what?! We’re stuck here!” Kaya exclaims loudly, throwing her hands in the air as she paces back and forth, before going back to fidgeting with her bracelet. The heels of her low boots click against the ground.

“Quit your pacing. Looking at it is making me tired.” Mai mutters, crossing her arms. She earns a glare from the candle maker with her response.

“Never seeing our loved ones again…?” Hikaru asks, gripping his head as he looks like he’s about to crumble.

“I don’t want to do this.” Chinami sobs softly, tears falling from her eyes “I don’t want to be here.”

Kenji places a hand on her shoulder and gives the shaken figure skater a comforting smile “No one wanted this to happen, Shikata-san. We understand what you’re going through.”

“I’m sure this is just a very elaborate prank!” Jihun smiles, clapping in his hands, which are covered by his long sleeves.

Arisa aims a knife at him, although she does keep it securely in her hand, causing Jihun to squeek “How on earth is this a prank to you?”

“I’m sure we’ll figure something out, right?” Mana asks, holding out her arms with a smile, carrying herself with very open and welcoming body language.

“Maybe…” Hachiro mutters, his hands in his pockets.

“You have nothing to fear! I’ll protect everyone!” Minoru exclaims, holding a clenched fist in front of him while stretching an open hand out towards Eri “Hanai-san, could you return my ghost visualizer?” He barely dodges the flashlight when it’s thrown at his head “What was that for?!”

“As long as you don’t give anyone a reason to kill, why would a murder occur?” Daichi smiles, looking at the palm of his hand.

After a beat of silence, Youta lifts a hand to his chin and mutters “So we’re really trapped in a killing game, huh?”

“You just realized that?!” Kaori pinches the bridge of her nose “You’re more idiotic than I'd originally anticipated.”

“Guys…” Juro begins, wanting everyone to stop fighting already.

“Shut your mouths.” A robotic voice they haven’t heard before suddenly says. Ryoko is standing near the edge of the group with a blank expression and her monopad in her hands. She types something on it and the voice starts speaking again “Everyone’s talking rapidly, all at once and I can’t read your lips.” She sighs and rolls her grey eyes “If you already go this crazy this early on, all of you are going to die.”

“What are you saying?” Kaya asks, gritting her teeth and clenching her fists by her sides as she stops her pacing.

“Thank the heavens, she stopped walking.” Mai mutters, placing a hand on her forehead while tilting her head back slightly and closing her eyes, a dramatic flair to her actions.

Ryoko finishes typing, thus the voice continues “What I’m saying is that if you can’t keep your cool when the situation isn’t even that bad, you stand no chance. It’s going to get worse starting now. Learn to not go crazy the second something bad happens or you’re just asking to get killed.”

“Stop it!” Chinami sinks to her knees, placing both of her hands over her ears in an attempt to block out the words.

“Like it or not, but this is the truth. Deal with it.”

“Finally someone said it!” Kaori exclaims, throwing her hands in the air.

“You were the one getting mad for no reason though.” Youta says calmly after a beat of silence, tilting his head just slightly.

“Shut it, Ultimate Anti-Vaxxer!”

Before Youta can respond, Juro steps between the fuming otologist and surprisingly calm natural healer “Guys, please calm down. Please...” The sketch artist bites the inside of his cheek and glances at Hachiro, who is whimpering at this point and clutching his head “I think Ebisu-kun doesn’t like it when people argue.”

“Oh dear…” Mana walks towards him and gently places a hand on Hachiro’s shoulder “Don’t worry, Ebisu-kun, the argument is over, and I’m sure it won’t happen again, right, Zayasu-san? Fukui-kun?” She looks at Kaori and Youta with a smile.

“Right, right.” Kaori responds with a huff, crossing her arms as she turns away from Youta.

He smiles and nods “I’ll do my best. Sorry for scaring you, Ebisu-kun.”

“You don’t have to be sorry…” Hachiro mutters softly, not meeting Youta’s gaze. The clown is clearly still trembling “Though that argument was becoming _unbearable_.”

Youta blinks a few times, while Eri just narrows her eyes and mutters “Did you just…?”

Then Juro bursts out laughing, soon joined by Mai and even most of the other students at least crack a smile. The sketch artist wipes a few tears from his eyes with a wide smile still on his face “Sorry, that pun was just too much.”

Hachiro just smiles now that the tension has faded thanks to his joke “I’m glad I could help.”

“Everyone, I have a proposal.” Kenji speaks up, causing all fifteen ultimates to turn their heads towards him “Perhaps we should look around this place and share our findings around dinner time when we can eat together? Then we can discuss our situation in general too.”

Juro nods with a smile “That sounds like a good idea, Yukimura-kun.”

“I guess we can do that.” Kaya says, sighing a little as she runs a hand through her brown hair “Akiyama-kun, let’s pair up.”

Smiling, Hikaru nods and hums “Sure thing, Uehara-san.”

“You guys can go, I’ll stick with Ebisu-kun for a while.” Mana smiles with her eyes closed, a hand still resting on Hachiro’s shoulder. She turns her head to him “Is that okay with you?”

Hachiro nods in response, without looking the environmental scientist in the eye.

“Sasaki-kun.” A male voice adresses him and Juro turns around to see Daichi with a polite smile “Let’s explore together. Although I have confidence that no one will try killing me, so I don't _need_ company, it’s way safer for you to stick with me.”

“Eh, sure, Takita-kun.” Juro response, trying to keep his smile nice instead of awkward, so he wouldn’t hurt the school idol’s feelings _‘He genuinly believes that he’s doing me a favour, huh?’_

“Excellent, let’s go then.” Daichi smiles and runs a hand through his hair “I trust that you’ll be able to decide what we should explore first. I’ll follow you.”

“Okay…” Juro responds before looking around.

The room they’re currently in looks more like a lobby than anything else. There are wooden stairs that seem to lead to a higher floor in the far corner, however, a shutter is blocking them. The cold metal seems very out of place in the otherwise warm room. Behind them is a set of double doors, through which some other students have left already. Mana and Hachiro have started pulling aside the heavy, red curtains, letting sunlight entering the previously dimly-lit room. Juro raises his arm to shield his eyes from the blinding light, blinking a few times until his sense has fully adjusted to the sudden change. He lowers his arm again and lets his eyes scan over everything in the room before turning back to Daichi.

“I don’t think there’s a lot for us to explore here. Shall we see what’s behind those doors?” Juro asks with a small smile.

“That sounds like an excellent idea. I was already considering it.” Daichi smiles and places a hand over his chest, letting the other hang by his side.

“Right…” Juro can feel a slight amount of strain in his cheek _‘Did Takita-kun compliment me and himself at the same time? Or does he consider me slow?’_ He turns around and pushes the thoughts from his mind _‘This is a bad time to overthink, Juro, focus.’_

“Allow me.” Daichi says and holds open the door.

“Thanks.”

The school idol closes the door behind them as they are now standing in a hallway with a style similiar to the living room. It is mostly wood with warm light coming from the old-fashioned lamps hanging from the ceiling. Paintings of landscapes are framed and hanging on the walls, an artstyle Juro can appreciate. He touches his chin while admiring the painting of a frozen lake, before snapping out of his trance of admiration and looking around. There are a few plants in the hallway, which turn out to be real upon closer inspection. They spot another set of double doors and decide to go through it.

Those doors leads to what can best be described as a cafetaria, with wooden tables and matching chairs taking up the majority of the space. There’s another door in the corner, this time a single one. The red curtains have already been opened by Kaya and Hikaru, the former just finishing opening up the last one.

The candle maker brushes a strand of brown hair behind her ear “There, much better.” She glances their way and seems to notice them because her face lights up a little “Oh, Sasaki-kun. Takita-kun. Hello!”

They exchange greetings and Juro speaks up next “So, did this room have anything that stood out?”

Hikaru shakes his head “It’s very similiar to the rest of this building, nothing out of the ordinary, at least if you can consider this ordinary.” He coughs and lightly hits his chest “The old-fashioned interior makes these rooms very stuffy.”

“I happen to like this style.” Kaya smiles with her arms crossed “My grandparents’ house has a similiar one. I’m used to it.”

 _‘I didn’t expect Uehara-san to like this style so much, she doesn’t seem like the type who would.’_ Juro smiles while scratching his cheek _‘I guess you really can’t judge a book by its cover.’_

“Everyone has their own taste.” Daichi says with a smile and his eyes closed, brushing some of his hair out of his face.

“I agree. Uehara-san, you can like this style even if I don’t!” Hikaru beams.

“I was planning to anyways, but thanks.” Kaya grins, rubbing the back of her neck while placing one hand on her hip. Her expression becomes a little more serious as she holds up a hand “By the way, did you guys find anything interesting?”

“No, not yet anyways, we have just left the room where we woke up.” Juro says “Sorry…”

“It’s a little disappointing, but don’t worry about out.” Kaya drops her hand to let it hang by her side as she smiles “You can’t help it, obviously.”

“If everyone keeps looking, we’re bound to find something.” Hikaru adds, placing a hand on Kaya’s shoulder, as she looks up at him and smiles with a nod.

“Let us know if you find anything, ‘kay.”

“We will.” Juro smiles, relieved that they’re not harsh on him. He’ll try to find something that everyone can hold onto in this dark place.

“It’s impossible to forget about you.” Daichi says.

Kaya’s face becomes a little redder, but she doesn’t falter when they wish each other luck and the two boys who paired up head to the other door, which leads to a kitchen. The cupboards are made of wood, which they kind of expected at this point, and it looks just as old-fashioned as the rest of the building, but still hold a certain charm. Youta and Mai are the ones in the kitchen, with the former looking around and the latter sitting on a counter.

Without saying anything, Mai just holds up her hand in a lazy wave. Youta greets them properly, which is a gesture they return.

“This place isn’t very different from the rest of the building, huh?” Juro sighs, fidgeting with his earring a little.

Mai shakes her head “Nope.”

“The design isn’t. However,” Youta walks to one of the larger doors among the cabinets and opens it, revealing the inside to be a modern fridge “All the electronic devices in here are very modern. The oven and dishwasher are like this too. So only the style is kept old here.”

“Someone must have went out of their way for us then. That’s quite flattering.” Daichi places his hands on his hips with a smile.

“Now that you mention it, none of the doors or floorboards creak.” Juro mutters, holding his fist in front of his mouth while leaning that elbow on the palm of his other hand, thinking “You would expect that from something that looks so old.”

“There are cobwebs though.” Mai nods at are corner where said things are “So it must've been abandoned for a while.

Juro shivers “I really hope we don’t encounter any spiders.”

“You’re in the wrong place then.” Mai folds her hands and leans her chin on them “Have you looked outside yet?”

“I forgot…” Juro rubs the back of his neck as he mutters those two words, looking away.

“We were fairly concentrated when looking around. You have to be thorough when you explore.” Daichi says.

“Maybe you should look through the windows then, to know where we are.” Youta suggests, a kind look in his eyes. He had been quiet for a while again.

So Juro does just that. There is one window above the kitchen unit, which is also behind the sink, so the sketch artist places his hands on the wood and leans forward to look out the window, the red curtains have already been pulled aside. The view he is met with is breathtaking, and he can’t wait to sit down and sketch it to campture the beauty on paper. A large lake is the centre of the grounds, appearing as a deep blue, reflecting the colour of the cloudless sky in its calm surface. There is a wooden lake landing with a few small boats. Multiple wooden buildings are built around the lake, with a simple forest path connecting all the structures. There is almost no open space other than the lake and the path surrounding it, a forest of pine trees surrounds everything as far as the eye can reach.

“It’s amazing…” Juro breathes.

“It is.” Youta agrees with his eyes closed and relaxed features, the creases of his mask show that he’s smiling.

“I agree that the natural area is very soothing.” Daichi says “Even though it is very different from the cities. It might take a while to adjust to this change of pace.”

“A forest is better than the city, that’s for sure.” Mai mutters, glancing out the window.

“Do you want to explore outside, Sasaki-kun?” Daichi asks.

The sketch artist nods, a little surprised that the school idol could tell “Only if you’re okay with it.”

“Of course.”

“Let’s go then.” Juro smiles before he bids Youta and Mai goodbye, which Daichi does as well.

They return to the cafetaria, where they wish Kaya and Hikaru the best of luck with their search, a gesture returned by the other two ultimates, before going to the hallway and taking a turn right. At the end of the hallway is yet another set of double doors with small, but elegant decorated windows above them. They push the doors open, letting the sunlight enter the previously dimly-lit hallway. The smell of pine, which had been mild inside the building, now becomes stronger and a very light breeze that rustles the trees now gently tugs on the boys’ hair and clothing. There isn’t a lot of furniture on the veranda, only a bench with a table and a rocking chair on each side of the door. Chinami and Kenji are on the veranda.

“Ah, Shikata-san, are you alright now? You seemed distressed earlier…” Juro asks her with a small frown.

“Huh?” Chinami’s blue eyes widen a little as she looks up at Juro “O-oh, I guess I’m okay? I’m sure that no one will try k-killing anyone else, right?” She closes her eyes when smiling, her rosy cheeks making her look absolutely adorable. She fidgets a little with a strand of light blue hair “Thank you for asking…”

“Anytime.” Juro gives her a genuine smile.

“Don’t be too concerned, everyone.” Kenji smiles calmly, placing a hand over his necklace “Everyone here seems to be willing to look after each other, so there’s a good chance that we can keep each other safe.”

“Of course. This is a group of quite lovely people.” Daichi says, again brushing a few strands of hair out of his face “I’m certain that we’ll be able to cooperate very well.”

“Yeah, and then we c-can find a way out together and stay friends.” Chinami smiles, shifting her weight a little from her heels to her toes as she folds her hands in front of her chest “Thanks, guys, I f-feel a lot better now.”

“At least our environment is pleasant. This might help with keeping everyone content.” Kenji says, staring into the distance while touching his chin.

“Yeah, I want to draw the lake and forest. It really inspires me.” Juro says with his eyes closed and a smile.

“Perhaps you could draw everyone together?” Daichi suggests.

“That’s a good idea actually.”

“Of course, I tend to have those.”

Before the situation can turn awkward, Chinami says, with a smile and even redder cheeks than usual, fidgeting with her index fingers a little “I really look forward to g-getting to know everyone.”

“Yeah, me too.” Juro agrees.

Kenji hums “So do I.”

“I’ll enjoy the many conversations I’ll have with everyone here.” Daichi says.

“We’ll continue exploring then. Perhaps we’ll run into some of the others along the way.”

“Okay, good luck, you two.” Juro bids them goodbye.

Daichi does the same before they continue, taking the flight of stairs that connects the veranda with the ground. Most of the buildings, at least as far as can be seen are elevated by similiar wooden constructions, with the majority having a veranda too. The exception is a large building close to the one they just exited. After a brief exchange the two boys decide to investigate there next. They take the flight of stairs that leads directly to the double doors and push them open. Inside, they encounter Kaori and Ryoko, who seem to have stuck together for the obvious reason of the otologist knowing sign language. Kaori seems to be pacing around and Ryoko signs something Juro can’t read because her hands are turned away from him and partly blocked by her torso.

When they approach the two girls, the cardist turns her head in their direction before Kaori can inform her about their presence.

Kaori greets them with a lot of enthusiasm while Ryoko settles with a simple, small wave.

“Hey, did you two find anything?” Juro asks after exchanging pleasantries, signing while he talks.

About to reply, Kaori opens her mouth, she is cut off by Daichi “I didn’t know you speak sign language, Sasaki-kun.”

“I think most people here don’t know.” Juro smiles while rubbing the back of his neck, a small droplet of sweat rolling down his forehead.

“Okay, okay, great knowledge, put it on a fucking notification board or something but let me answer the question!” Kaori hisses loudly through her teeth, forgetting to translate her words for a moment.

“Sorry, Zayasu-san.” Daichi says with a small smile.

Before things can escalate any further, Ryoko stomps with her foot on the wooden planks, drawing their attention, before signing *I don’t know the details of what’s going on, because you two talk too fast, but it seemed Takita interrupted Zayasu who got all worked up over it, which is a waste of time.* Ryoko waits for Juro to translate her message for Daichi before she looks at the sketch artist and adds *This building has dorm rooms for all sixteen of us and a garden in the middle of the building, as you can see behind those windows.” She nods her head in the direction of the windows she had mentioned, which does indeed seem to lead to an open space *There are small gaps between the floorboards, so I wouldn’t recommend dropping small objects.* Ryoko sighs *This might be problematic if I drop any cards.*

After he finishes translating, Juro thanks Ryoko for her summary and Daichi says “I hadn’t expected the Ultimate Cardist to still drop cards. You seem to know what you’re doing.”

Once the compliment gets translated, the cardist just gives Daichi a blank stare before signing *Those are flourishes I know by heart. When I learn new ones or create flourishes myself, I always drop a few cards the first few attempts. You need to train to become good at something.*

“I suppose you’re right. You’re really wise, Yuuma-san.”

Ryoko doesn’t react to the school idol’s words, instead she focuses on Kaori’s hand while the otologist signs the words she is saying “So, so, enough from us. Do you two have any new information to share?”

“Not a lot, honestly. Only the advanced technology in the kitchen seemed out of place, but everything else is pretty much like you’d expect.” Juro says, fidgeting with his earring again as he bites his lip. If only he had more information to help figure out what on earth is going on.

“Thanks, thanks.” Kaori sighs and adjusts the strands of hair that are hanging in front of her right ear “We avoided that place because Fukui-kun was there and I can’t stand him.”

_‘How can you say that when you’ve only known someone for a day…?’_

“Really? It’s such a shame you two can’t get along.” Daichi sighs with a small frown.

“Blame that alternative medicine hippie.” Kaori huffs as she crosses her arms and looks away.

 _‘I should really change the topic before things escalate…’_ Juro thinks to himself before speaking up “Anyways, Takita-kun and I should really continue investigating if we want to cover as much ground as possible. We’ll let you know if we find anything.”

They exchange goodbyes with Kaori and Ryoko before they go to check out the garden in the centre of the building. It’s odd to see an open space between four walls. There’s door opposite to the one they just went through, both having stairs that lead to the ground again. There’s a circular path surrounding a fountain with a statue of Monokuma, which isn’t very pleasant to look at. Different kinds of flowers grow here, seeming to live and produce lovely colours despite the high walls surrounding the place that will most likely rob them of sunlight throughout most of the day. Arisa is sitting on the stone surrounding the fountain with her legs crossed, examining the blade of her knife, which glinsters in the sunlight as it's caught in the item's reflection.

“Oh, hey, Kasai-san…” Juro says softly, mentally praying that he doesn’t catch her off-guard and gets a knife thrown at his skull.

Arisa glances up and with a monotone voice she says “Oh, it’s you two. What do you want?”

“We are just investigating the place, although it’s a pleasant surprise to run into you here.” Daichi says.

Raising an eyebrow, Arisa stands up and puts the knife in her hand back on her belt “Get to the point or I might consider stabbing you.”

“Did you find anything important?” Juro says quickly, stumbling over his own words with how fast he talks. His cheeks become a little red from the nerves.

After taking a moment to decipher what he just said Arisa tucks a strand of hair behind her ear “Not much. Assuming that Zayasu and Yuuma already told you about their findings, I don’t have to repeat it.” She places a hand on her hip “However, you can get underneath the building through a small door behind the stairs. You can’t exactly stand there though, and there are walls that prevent students from crawling underneath someone else’s room.”

“That’s reassuring…” Juro breathes out a sigh of relief. When Arisa gives him a look, also known as her neutral expression, he almost shrinks on spot.

Fortunately, or unfortunately considering the school idol’s natural talent for getting on Arisa’s nerves, Daichi speaks up with a close-eyed smile “Thank you for your help, Kasai-san. You’re really observant, aren’t you?”

After a moment of silence Arisa sighs “Sasaki, get that brat out of my face or someone will end up with a knife lodged in their forehead.”

“R-right! Let’s go Takita-kun.” Juro quickly urges Daichi back inside, wanting to get as far away from an irritated Ultimate Knife Thrower as possible.

While walking through the building, Juro and Daichi exchange pleasantries with Kaori. Ryoko either doesn’t know they’re there or chooses to ignore them, but she’s occupied with her cards again. They walk to the lake and approach the landing, where Minoru is standing with his hands on his hips and looking around, while Jihun is standing in a boat and rocking it back and forth. Now that they’re closer to the boats, it’s easy to see the a chain connecting each one to a wooden pillar rising from the water.

“Asada-kun, what are you doing?” Juro asks.

“I’m making sure that no ghosts try to drown Jihun while he has fun.” Minoru beams with a bright smile.

“R-right…” The sketch artist smiles, though a little strained _‘Some ultimate students have… very big personalities…’_

“That’s very noble of you, Asada-kun.” Daichi says.

“Thanks guys…” Minoru’s cheeks become a little redder “I’m just doing my job and looking after the youngest.”

“Yeah, Minoru hyung is keeping me safe from evil ghosts.” Jihun clasps his hands together with a smile.

“I see. So you haven’t been bothered by any yet?” Daichi asks.

Jihun shakes his head, still bouncing on spot, and Juro asks Minoru “Asada-kun, while you were... on the look-out for ghosts, did you notice anything else?”

“Well, all the boats are chained to pillars and have locks, so we can’t take one to explore the lake.” Minoru says, fidgeting with the flahslight on his belt a little “The keys might be in that boathouse over there,” He gestures at a wooden building that doesn’t seem to have any windows, at least none that they can see from where they’re standing “But the doors are locked.”

“That’s odd…” Daichi says, brushing some hair out of his face.

“Kind of like the shutter blocking the stairs we saw in the beginning.” Juro mutters, fidgeting with his earring “It’s like someone is messing with us by keeping things just out of reach.”

“Would someone really do that to us?” Jihun asks with tears in his eyes, holding his hands, which are covered by his sleeves, to his chin “No one would be that bad, right?”

Daichi leans forward a little so he can look Jihun in the eye “Have you ever played videogames or watched a movie with a big bad guy?” When Jihun nods the school idol adds “Well, it’s kind of like that. There’s a very bad person behind this, and we have to stop them, like the heroes in those video games and movies.”

“We’re heroes then?” Jihun asks and when Daichi gives a confirmation, the maknae’s eyes light up, despite the tears on his cheeks “We should get outfits so no one can figure out our secret identities!”

“Yeah, let’s do that, little Jihun.” Minoru grins “We can all find unique outfits to match our superpowers.”

Juro smiles at the excitement building up. He may have moments where he questions Daichi’s behaviour a little, but perhaps the school idol isn’t so bad. He is very good with people at least.

“While you work everything out, we’ll continue exploring.” Juro says “I’m sure you can handle it.”

Jihun nods “Right, I’ll do my best!”

“I know you will.” Juro smiles with his eyes closed. He and Daichi exchange goodbyes with Minoru and Jihun before they continue their investigation.

They head towards another building near the lake, a little further away from where they woke up, but it’s on the left side of it while the building that seems to serve as a dormitory was on their right side when they stood on the veranda of the first one and faced the lake. They notice a spot of white and pastel pink in the distance and when they wave, the petite girl returns the gesture.

“Hanai-san, why are you on your own?” Daichi asks when they have reached her “No one would want you to get hurt, you know?”

“I’m just avoiding that pathetic excuse of a “ghost hunter”.” Eri quotes with her fingers before she rolls her eyes “That moron won’t leave me alone about "possession", so I decided to investigate very far away from him.”

“I guess that’s… understandable.” Juro tries to smile politely. He doesn’t exactly agree with Eri’s behaviour towards Minoru, but on the other hand, the sketch artist can see why she would want to avoid him, given their first encounter didn’t go very well, to put it lightly.

“Anyways, I’ve looked around here, but the other buildings are locked and the curtains are closed, so I don’t know what’s inside.” Eri twirls a strand of hair around her finger “And don’t get your hopes up about leaving this place through the forest. There’s a fence surrounding the terrain and there are warning signs that the fence is live. Unlike some morons here, I don’t feel like volunteering myself to be fried.”

“Ah… Thanks for the summary.” A droplet of sweat appears on Juro’s forehead as he speaks. That was… quite to the point.

“So that bear has really taken everything into consideration with hampering our escape.” Daichi says in a slightly solemn mood before his expression brightens “Although we could’ve had way worse company.”

Eri gives the school idol a look “I should ask Zayasu if it’s possible to have cotton wadding for braincells, because that might be the case for you. May I remind you that I’m stuck with this idiot who is convinced that I’m a possessed doll?”

“I’m sure Minoru-kun will come around and realize that he was wrong.” Juro says with a reassuring smile.

“He’d better or I hope that he can swim. I’m not dealing with his nonsense.” Eri sighs before checking the time on her monopad “It’s almost dinner time, we should go back to the group, as much as I don’t look forward to it.”


	4. Chapter 1 - Daily Life 2/3

Juro plays with the food on his plate, which was cooked by Hachiro and Mana, as he looks at the group. They have just shared their findings and especially Eri’s discovery put a damper on the mood. It seems some people were still optimistic that they could escape through the forest, as risky as that would be, but the high fence that was live quickly hit them hard.

“Can’t we just dig a tunnel?” Kaya mutters while cupping her own face with her hands as she looks at the wooden table.

“We don’t have equipment.” Arisa points out, taking another bite of her food. She is the only one to have almost finished her meal, although Kenji and Ryoko are eating as well “And the ground is quite hard here.”

“There’s gotta be a way!” Kaori slams her hand on the table, causing Hachiro to flinch at the sudden sound.

“You scared, Ebisu-kun.” Youta says after a moment when no one does.

“Fuck you!”

Kenji sighs “Zayasu-san, please calm down. I understand that you’re frustrated but conflict won’t help.”

“We’re all s-scared…” Chinami smiles despite the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. She has her hands folded in front of her chest and is sitting curled up like a ball underneath her poncho.

“We’ll just have to work together to find a way.” Mana flashes the group a confident smile as she places her hand on the table and stands up.

“And we can protect and help each other.” Hikaru adds with a smile.

“Sixteen talented and wonderful ultimates working together, that can only promise something good.” Daichi says, putting his fingertips to his forehead.

“I’m sure Monokuma has given us a way out, but we have to find it!” Jihun claps his hands, covered by his sleeves, together as he smiles brightly “Like a search!”

“I’m sure you’re right, little Jihun!” Minori clenches a fist while adjusting his goggles “We’ll find the clues and piece everything together to find a way out!”

Eri raises and eyebrow “Seriously?”

“Searches are such a drag though…” Mai rests her head on her arms, which she has put on the table and closes her eyes.

Ryoko pokes Juro’s arm, drawing his attention and signs with a tilt of her head *Summary?*

The sketch artist nods and smiles *Everyone is trying to come up with ways to escape. Right now they’re entertaining the possibility of a search.*

*A search with murder as the hook?* She rolls her eyes and returns her attention to her cards.

Juro smiles, even though his eyes almost fall shut. He is tired. This game is putting him on edge and everyone’s eccentric reactions don't exactly help with the issue of feeling drained. He wants to be optimistic, but with every discovery the light he usually looks forward to gets dimmer. Sighing, he stares at the wall, unable to shatter everyone’s hope. Still, Ryoko’s silent and somewhat snarky realism is a breath of fresh air among the idealism, even though he would never admit that out loud.

“How about this, we just try to help and protect each other while continuing to look for a way out.” Kenji suggests, holding his necklace with one hand as he offers the group of ultimates a comforting smile.

“Finally someone with common sense.” Kaori groans while rubbing her forehead, leaning back on her chair, slouching.

Youta blinks a few times “You do realize you’re hurting your back, right?”

“Keep your nose in your own affairs.” The otologist huffs, crossing her arms, but sitting up straighter “Of course I know that. I’m the one who actually studies medicine, remember?”

“You two…” Mana holds up her hands, glancing between them “We made an agreement to try getting along, let’s try our best.”

“Yes, please…” Hachiro mutters, curling up into a ball while gripping his collar tightly.

“We can all get along if we just try.” Mana smiles at Hachiro while placing a hand on his shoulder “Everyone can put their differences aside and make the most of any situation when given the chance.” She looks back at the two main sources of conflict with her soft smile still present “You just have to give each other a chance, okay?”

Kaori sighs and stands up, pushing her chair backwards “Usually, I’m willing to get along with people, but I’m not gonna pretend to tolerate someone I can’t stand.” She narrows her eyes at Mana “Don’t ask me to fake and be someone I’m not for other’s sake.” She turns on her heel and walks away.

“Zayasu-san…” Mana stands up and is about to go after the girl, but the harsh glare makes the environmental scientist stop in her tracks.

Kaori slams the door shut behind her and her footsteps slowly grow silent until they have faded completely.

It’s silent and Mana slowly lowers her trembling hand and lets her head hang.

“Ishikawa-san… Are you okay?” Hikaru asks after a moment, standing up.

She nods and turns to the group with a smile, though her eyes are shimmering with tears that have yet to be shed. Her voice trembles while she speaks “I j-just need a moment…” Mana walks away at a fast pace, almost like she’s running and trying to escape.

Hachiro stands up “Ishikawa-san…” He looks at the others and almost shrinks where he stands “I’m gonna ch-check up on her.” And with those words, he’s gone.

“Why did it have to go downhill like this…?” Juro wonders, crumbling the piece of paper in his pocket.

The robotic voice that they have come to associate with Ryoko speaks “I have no clue what’s going on, because I missed at least half of it, but I’m guessing Zayasu snapped and Ishikawa freaked out?”

Juro and Kenji both nod in confirmation. Ryoko just sighs and crosses her arms while glancing around.

Chinami shrinks and sinks to her knees on the floor, hugging herself and lowering her head “I d-don’t like this…”

Kenji gets up and wraps an arm around her “It’ll be okay, Shikata-san. Everyone is very tense right now.”

“They’ll probably be for a while. Prepare yourself.” Arisa huffs and cracks her knuckles “I’m going to my room.” She doesn’t pay any attention to them after having said those words and leaves right away.

“Same. Everyone is loud and crazy here.” Eri gets up as well and follows.

“Why do I feel like that’s directed at me?” Minoru stands up and puts his hands on the table, puffing out his cheeks with a frown.

Eri stops in front of the door, looks at him and raises an eyebrow “Isn’t it obvious? Because you are.” Then she’s gone.

“Hey!” Minoru gets a little red in the face. He sighs “That girl is impossible…”

Jihun tugs on Minoru’s sleeve “Let’s try coming up with something to cheer everyone up!”

The ghost hunter smiles and nods, clenching his fist in front of him “Excellent idea, little Jihun!”

“An excuse to sleep, finally. I’m crashing.” Mai yawns and stands up at a snale’s pace “Goodnight.”

Without even bothering to type anything and transfer it to speech, Ryoko gets up, waves and walks away.

“I’m tagging along with Yuuma-san to make sure no one tries attacking her.” Hikaru gets up and follows the deaf girl.

“I hope everyone gets sleeps well and gets enough rest.” Daichi smiles “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Shikata-san, you should probably get some fresh air.” Kenji helps the Chinami up and she nods in response.

“I’ll just… go to my room.” Youta sighs and waves at the ones still remaining, trying to let his eyes smile despite the slight frown on his face “Goodnight.”

“I guess we’re the only ones left now…” Kaya mutters, glancing at Juro.

He nods “Yeah…” He forces a smile on his face “I hope everyone can make amends. Being tired probably didn’t help.”

Kaya fidgets with her bracelet “Zayasu-san was a bit of a bitch for acting like that, but I can’t blame her. Ishikawa-san was way too pushy, forcing her friendship stuff down Zayasu-san’s throat.”

“I’m sure Ishikawa-san meant well.” Juro keeps smiling, though his cheeks hurt a little.

“Pushy people are irritating.” Kaya mutters “But this is bad… All this tension.”

Juro nods, unable to deny the truth in her words, as much as he want to say it’s a lie. People have been put on edge, if one of them snaps… He doesn’t want to think about the possible consequences, even though he knows that it's far from impossible.

The candle maker sighs “Let’s just go to bed.”

“Yeah…” Juro nods “I hope some proper sleep will calm everyone down.”

“I hope so too, if people can actually fall asleep here.” Kaya does her best to smile “See you tomorrow, Sasaki-kun.”

He nods and smiles, but his eyes are growing heavy “Yeah… I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Once Kaya has left too, Juro is the only one left behind. He glances at the table where plates, some empty and some filled with food that was left untouched, and sighs with a soft smile before he starts picking them up.

The sketch artist spends a while cleaning everything, but it helps keep his thoughts and worries at bay, and he almost wishes he could continue when he is done. He smiles at the result of his hard work and finally leaves the room. It’s already dark when he goes outside and Juro looks up at the night sky, letting her arms hang limp by his side and cranes his neck to admire the stars. The silver sparks against the dark emptiness of space never cease to amaze him, like a piece of art would. Although, the night sky tends to look like art created carefully by nature itself, or perhaps a higher power, if one exists.

Juro exhales slowly, the cold starting to seep into his system as he has lost track of time again. He continues walking to the building where their rooms are. Like Arisa had said earlier, the ground is indeed pretty hard here and not very pleasant to walk on. Normally it would be difficult for someone to find their way in the dark, but the moon lights Juro’s path and guides him to his destination.

Upon entering the building, it’s already silent. It seems most people have no interest in any social interactions after the last encounter ended in an argument, or are asleep. Perhaps it’s just a combination of both.

While making his way to his room, Juro does his best to be silent and is pleasantly surprised when the floorboards don’t creak. He enters his room only to be greeted by keys lying on the table.

 _‘Oh joy, more objects to lose.’_ He sighs and, with a frown and puffed out cheeks, he picks them up and puts them in his pocket, hoping he doesn’t drop them and have them fall through the cracks between the floorboards.

The room has the same vibe as all other indoor spaces here. The wooden bed has been covered by a red blanket with a white pillow and mattress. All the other furniture is made of the same wood, so the desk, chair, nightstand and closet all match with the bed. Deep red curtains cover a place on the wall that mostly likely has a window. The room is a little bit cramped, but that just might be the appeal of it, with the atmosphere being rather cozy. It’s not Juro’s usual style, but he wouldn’t mind staying here for a while if it weren’t for the killing game.

He sighs for what feels like the millionth time today and, after sitting down on the chair behind his desk, pulls out his sketchbook and materials.

Maybe drawing something can make him feel a little better.

~*~

When Juro wakes up in the morning and takes one glance at the clock on the wall, he shoots up “Oh f-” He swallows the swear word and jumps out of bed to get ready.

 _‘I shouldn’t have stayed up so late.’_ He scolds himself while hurrying through his morning routine and sprinting towards the door, almost tripping and falling down the stairs.

“Careful.” A voice warns him.

Juro turns around and spots Kaori leaning against the door with her arms crossed and a relaxed smile on her face “Zayasu-san, good morning.”

“Morning.” She responds and walks down the stairs with a lot more grace than him “Take it easy. Breaking your neck is a lot more troublesome than being late.”

“I guess…” Juro mutters while his cheeks turn pink.

Kaori’s amused smile soon falters and makes way for a frown while she puts her hands in the pockets of her white lab coat. She stares at the ground and kicks a pebble away while walking “Are you mad at me?”

“I’m not.” Juro frowns “Why would you think that?”

She shrugs “‘Cause I would be pissed, if I were you. Then again, I get pissed easily.” Kaori sighs, pushing a strand of her crimson pink hair behind her ear, before clenching a fist around her hair “I didn’t mean to make everyone freak out, though I still can’t stand those fucking busybodies.”

Juro remained quiet while the otologist went on her rant and glanced at her, not wanting to give her a reason to direct her fury at him.

Soon enough, they reach the main building and Kaori pats Juro’s shoulder, making him flinch slightly at the sudden contact “Thanks for dealing with that rant of mine, even though I can tell you don’t agree with how I feel about those fuckers.”

“No problem.” He smiles slightly and thanks Kaori when she holds the door open for him, which brings out a smile on her face.

When they stand in front of the door to the cafetaria, Kaori reaches for the doorknob but tenses up and grits her teeth.

“Are you okay, Zayasu-san?” Juro asks, whispering.

“Yeah, just fine.” She grips the doorknob until her knuckles turn white and opens it.

Silence washes over the room and Kaori scoffs, walking past everyone and heading to the kitchen to get herself breakfast.

Juro silently makes his way to the table and hesitantly takes a seat between Eri and Hikaru. Mana pushes a plate of food towards him and smiles, despite trembling a little. Hachiro rubs the environmental scientist’s back and she folds her hands on the table while the corners of her lips turn downwards and she closes her eyes.

“Oh for the love of-” Kaya sighs and stands up, firmly placing her hands on the table, knocking over her chair while doing so. Some people flinch and everyone looks at the candle maker, who narrows her eyes at Mana “Quit playing the victim already!”

Mana looks up at Kaya, while tears form in her eyes “I’m n-not…”

“Yes, you are!”

“Uehara-san… Please stop...” Hachiro grabs his head.

“Aren’t you going a little too far?” Daichi asks with a tilt of his head “Everyone is upset enough as it is. Can’t you see that?”

“Well, unlike some people, I’m not gonna sit on my lazy ass and keep the tension around ‘cause I don’t wanna deal with it!” Kaya clenches a fist over her chest while she raises her voice “Yes, Zayasu-san was being an absolute bitch yesterday, but you,” She points her finger at Mana “Were pushing your idealistic beliefs onto her and are just sitting here and crying! You’re the one always spouting your beliefs about how everyone can get along and work together, so practice what you preach already, for fuck’s sake!”

“That’s enough, Uehara-san!” Minoru stands up and glares at Kaya.

“Oh joy, here we go again…” Eri sighs while leaning her chin on her hands.

Jihun starts sobbing and pulls his knees to his chest “Why does everyone keep fighting…?”

“P-please stop…” Chinami begs while folding her hands in front of her as tears form in the corners of her eyes.

“N-no, everyone…” Mana chokes out and all eyes turn to her. She wipes a few tears away “Please stop it. I don’t want more people to fight because of me.” She glances up at Kaya while placing her hands on her chest “I’m sorry, Watai-san… You’re right…” Mana lowers her head and hands “I’ve let my fear get the better of me. I… I’ll try talking to Zayasu-san.”

Kaya nods and picks up her chair to sit down again “Good.”

“I think just making peace with everyone is for the best…” Kenji sighs, placing a hand on his necklace “Even if we don’t agree on who’s to blame.”

“Are we done then?” Mai puts her arms on the table and uses them as a pillow.

“Why were you two so late though?” Youta asks, tilting his head to the side while looking at Juro “The morning announcement was pretty loud, so I’d have expected it to wake everyone except Yuuma-san, who’s just an early riser.” He nods in the direction of the cardist, who is occupied with her cards and seemingly hasn’t paid attention to most of the conflict.

“I stayed up too late and overslept, sorry about that.” Juro smiles while rubbing the back of his neck.

“Be careful with that. A regular sleeping schedule is important for your overall well-being.” Youta says with a kind smile and a soft voice.

Juro nods “I’ll try. Thanks for your concern, Fukui-kun.”

The tension fades a little, mainly thanks to Kaya just being her regular, excited self instead of her angry version from earlier, and people chat with each other and make some small talk. Some of it is a little forced, but at least everyone is trying to get along.

“No, no, no!” Monokuma suddenly shows up, red in the face while showing his claws.

“Oh, look who’s back.” Ryoko comments through her monopad after a moment, while everyone else remains silent.

“What’s your reason for being here?” Daichi asks.

“Please don’t tell me this ‘killing school trip’ has morning fitness.” Mai groans, faceplanting on the table.

“As a matter of fact, exercise is good for the human mind and body.” Youta says after a moment.

“I’m not talking about any of that!” Monokuma huffs “For a bunch of ultimates, you sure act like idiots.”

“Hey!” Minoru exclaims loudly with a frown.

“At least you’re aware.” Eri comments, taking a sip from her tea.

“What I mean is the tension and hate between you guys shouldn’t just disappear like that!” Monokuma exclaims, throwing his paws in the air “Be angry with each other! That’ll just give you more reasons to kill and get the fun started.”

“We have even more reasons to get along then.” Juro says, surprising himself with his firmness.

As if on cue, Kaori enters the cafeteria again “I heard a new annoying fucker who calls himself our principal.”

“Zayasu-san…” Mana stands up and walks towards the otologist, swallowing a lump in her throat while looking up at the taller girl “I just… wanted to say I’m sorry for letting things get out of hand and running away instead of reaching out to you… I hope that we can still try being friends, despite our differences.”

It’s silent for a moment, with everyone’s breathing being the only sound in the room. Not even Monokuma says something, probably curious about how things will play out.’

“I’ve said this before, didn’t I? I don’t pretend to tolerate people I can’t stand.” Kaori scoffs and turns towards the door, only sparing Mana a glance while saying “Only come to me when you have a genuine apology, instead of something you’re forcing yourself to say. Otherwise, fuck off with your fake nice attitude.”

Youta stands up, this time with a frown as he clenches his fists “Zayasu-san, why can’t you just try?”

“Shut up!” Kaori yells “I don’t care if everyone here hates me and think I’m the bad guy! At least I’m not fake, like all of you!” Then she turns on her heel and storms out the door.

“Much better.” Monokuma sighs with a content smile “I’ll get out of your hair then. Happy killing!”

“I-is it my fault…?” Mana stares at the door, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes, she places her hands on her chest, while letting the tears fall “It _is_ my fault, isn’t it?” She looks at the group and doesn’t give them a chance to speak before saying “I’m sorry!” Then she runs off to who knows where.

“Ishikawa-san!” Hachiro stands up, ready to go after her, when Arisa stops him.

“Don’t.” The knife thrower says firmly “Sometimes people need alone time to think and reflect.” She stands up “I’ll be going for a walk. See you at dinner.” Although the words are nice, Arisa’s voice is empty as she walks away.

Kenji taps Ryoko on her shoulder and says slowly “Could you try talking to Zayasu-san?”

The cardist gives him a look and types the next sentence on her monopad “I don’t even know what’s going on at least half of the time.”

“Distracting her works too. I’ll fill you in about the situation.” The classical guitarist promises with a smile “You might be the only one who can get through to her.”

Ryoko sighs and stands up, following Kenji to discuss the events that took place.

“Why can’t people just…” Kaya stands up “You know what, nevermind.” Then she leaves.

Juro stares at the door with a frown as most people leave.

“Sasaki-kun…” Chinami fidgets with her poncho and doesn’t look him in the eyes “W-would you mind if we c-could just t-talk a bit? I don’t want t-to be alone right now.”

The sketch artist nods with a smile “Of course I don’t mind. Keeping our minds off the situation might help a little.”

Chinami smiles softly, wiping the forming tears away “Yeah, p-probably.”

After discussing their options, the two teens agree to go to the landing with the boats, where they sit down on the edge. Juro glances at Chinami and smiles when she seems to relax a little, now that she is in the open air. Swinging her legs back and forth while her hands rest in her lap, the figure skater stares off into a the distance with a tiny smile.

“Feeling better?” He asks.

She nods “Much, th-thank you.” She pushes a few hairs behind her ears “The breeze is nice.”

“It is.” Juro agrees with a soft hum, placing his hands behind him “At least we can go outside and enjoy nature. I guess there are worse places to be right now…” He sits up straight and gets a little red in the face “Sorry, I probably shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“No, i-it’s okay.” Chinami puts her small hand on his shoulder “I think I g-get what you mean. I always p-prefer natural ice, despite ice rinks being great too.”

Juro nods, smiling a little “Yeah, I always sit outside when drawing if I can. Unless it’s really windy, because then my drawings would just be blown away.” He chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck.

Chinami giggles “Yeah, that wouldn’t b-be very helpful.”

They talk a bit, discussing their weather preferences. Unsurprisingly, Chinami isn’t a big fan of heat or wind, liking cold, cloudless days with temperatures below zero the most, probably because it’s great weather for ice skating. Juro isn’t a big fan of cold, just liking average temperatures and mild weather. It’s quite ironic that he would rather deal with heat waves than freezing temperatures, while Chinami is definitely the other end of the spectrum.

After a while they part ways, but agree to meet up again in the future, especially if they need a distraction from their current predicament.

If it only it were so easy to avoid.

When Juro wakes up the next morning, he hears Monokuma’s announcement.

“All students, please assemble in the main building immediately!”


	5. Chapter 1 - Daily Life 3/3

When Juro arrives, most of the students have already assembled in the room where they first woke up. He sits down on a couch next to Kaya, who has both her arms and legs crossed while glaring at the spot where they first saw Monokuma. Kaori is sitting on the couch the furthest away from everyone, with an unbothered Ryoko next to her.

“Finally, everyone is here.” Monokuma pops up and when he does, Arisa tightens her grip on one of her knives while narrowing her eyes. Their principal clears his throat “Sooo, since getting the killing started is taking way too long and I’m getting bored, I’ve decided to motivate you guys a little, by giving you a motive!” He practically cheers the last part of the sentence “I’ve prepared some special videos just for you. Go ahead, watch them! If you don’t, I’ll just punish you. Upupupu.”

As if on cue everyone’s monopad makes a small sound and vibrates. Juro digs up his device from his backpack and holds it in both hands, looking like it’s going to burn him. Well, knowing Monokuma, it just might.

He turns on the monopad and the screen lights up. He swallows nervously, glancing up at his classmates, some of them are already plugging in their earbuds.

Juro looks back at the screen in his hand and hesitantly opens the message containing the video. He really doesn’t want to look at this, but there’s no escaping. If he doesn’t do this, he’ll be… executed. So Juro puts the earbuds in his ears and closes his eyes when pressing play.

_“Test. Test.” Sasaki Tsukiya, Juro’s younger brother, has his face close to the camera before turning his head to the others, signing while he speaks “Okay, it’s running!”_

Juro smiles a little upon seeing his brother dash towards the couch where the rest of his family is sitting. He instantly forgets what the purpose of this video is and just focuses on the people he knows so well.

_“Congratulations on joining Hope’s Peak Academy, son.” His father begins “We’re all extremely proud of you.”_

_His mother nods “Study hard, but don’t forget to have some fun and make friends too. You deserve it.”_

_“Make sure to come home soon though. It’s boring without you.” Tsukiya puffs out his cheeks “I’ve grown a centimetre since you left. Soon enough I’ll be taller than you, so be prepared for when you return!”_

_Ayako, the youngest of the three siblings, smiles with her eyes closed and gives the camera a thumbs up before her hands move to piece a sentence together *Good luck, big brother! I believe in you! You can do this!*_

Juro smiles and holds back a few tears, glad to receive so much encouragement from his family. It almost makes him hope that he could just wake up from this nightmare and really be at Hope’s Peak Academy to learn more and develop his talent further.

Suddenly, the screen distorts and for a second, Juro believes that he has accidentally destroyed his monopad without knowing it. They were supposed to be careful with them! How could he have broken his so easily? Is he that incapable?

But no, the screen soon returns, only to display a destroyed living room, with blood splatters on the wall.

While his eyes widen, Juro almost drops the monopad. He wants to look away, but it’s impossible to do so. All he can do is stare at the remains of his home.

_“The Sasaki family was always so kind and supported their son when he got his ultimate talent. How could something so horrible happen to them?” A voice narrates._

Then the screen fades to black and displays the words ‘FIND OUT AFTER GRADUATION’.

Juro can barely tears his hands from the monopad to remove his earbuds, letting them dangle from where they’re still connected to the device. He folds his hands together in an attempt to stop himself from shaking.

 _‘Breathe, Juro, just breathe.’_ He tells himself, taking slow breaths while his heartbeat thumps loudly in his ears, too loudly.

His father and mother… to what lengths would they have tried to go to ensure the safety of their children and each other? Tsukiya… would he have been scared and shouted while trying to defend himself and his family, or would he have curled up into a ball and frozen on spot? And then there was Ayako… Poor little Ayako… would she have begged for her brother to save her like he had done before, only to be disappointed that he never came?

If something had happened to them, Juro would never forgive himself.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Arisa’s reaction breaks the silence as she jumps up and grabs a knife, pulling her arm back to throw the sharp object at their headmaster. Her monopad falls on the ground with a loud thud.

Hikaru, who had been sharing a couch with her, quickly jumps up, dropping his own monopad in the process and quickly grabs Arisa’s hand before the can launch the knife at Monokuma “Kasai-san, don’t!” He wraps his other arm around her to keep her in check “If you attack him, he’ll punish you.”

“I don’t care! Let me kill that thing!” Arisa shouts, struggling against Hikaru’s strong grip on her, trying to elbow him in the face and kick his knees “Let me go or I’ll stab you!”

Despite her threats and attacks, Hikaru doesn’t loosen his hold on her, especially not the one he has on her hand with the knife. The tattoo artist shakes his head “I can’t let you do that.”

Kenji jumps up and rushes towards the two, assisting Hikaru with holding Arisa down.

Kaya throws her monopad across the room with gritted teeth. Mana and Hachiro try to offer each other comfort in this tough situation. Chinami curls up into a ball and sobs softly, while a very tense Youta pats her shoulder. Mai puts her monopad to the side and throws her head back to stare up at the ceiling. Eri clenches her fists and casts a curious glance at Minoru, who has his eyes closed. Jihun pokes Daichi’s arm, wanting a confirmation that the video is just some very convincing acting, like a movie, and the school idol just smiles at the younger student. Kaori stands up, ready to throw her monopad on the ground, when Ryoko gets to her feet and grabs the wrist of the taller girl, narrowing her grey eyes. Although the cardist is trembling, Kaori eventually looks away and lowers her arm before stomping to the door, throwing it shut behind her.

“Yes, that’s the despair I wanted to see. Upupupu.” Monokuma puts his paws in front of his face while laughing “Happy killing!”

Then he’s gone.

Arisa’s escapes the grasp of the two boys holding her, by elbowing Hikaru’s nose and kicking Kenji in the gut, causing the classical guitarist to collapse, holding his stomach while gritting his teeth. Screaming, Arisa throws a knife and it lodges in the wall, right behind the place where Monokuma stood. She throws more knives, shouting insults while doing so, until Kenji grabs her lower arm and looks her in the eye with a sad look. He shakes his head, still holding his stomach where she kicked him.

Unable to contain it further, Arisa drops her knife and it clatters on the wooden floor. She collapses against Kenji and openly sobs.

Juro sighs and looks at the floor, his brows furrowed while people get up and leave. Eventually, he forces himself to get back on his feet and is about to leave when Kenji’s voice stops him.

“Sasaki-kun.” The classical guitarist is still holding Arisa in an embrace “Please be there for dinner, and ask anyone you encounter to join us. I’d like to see everyone tonight.”

With a tiny but forced smile, Juro nods “I’ll be there.”

Kenji smiles and nods as a response.

Figuring there’s not much for him left to do, Juro leaves the building and heads to his room.

Maybe sketching will calm his nerves a little.

~*~

Putting the pencil down, Juro sighs and puts his hands in his hair, messing it up further while he closes his eyes. He can’t even focus on his art and his shaky hands certainly don’t help with getting the lines right. Figuring it’s no use, he stands up, almost knocking over his chair and leaves his room.

“Ah, Sasaki-kun.” Youta greets him, joining the sketch artist’s side as they walk towards the door together “How are you doing?”

“I’m doing okay. How about you?” Juro forces a smile.

Youta just smiles softly “Would you like to accompany me on a walk? Exercise helps with a troubled mind.”

“Sure.” The sketch artist agrees after some hesitation, trying to surpress the small frown.

They leave the dormitory building and walk down the forest path. Juro has to admit that the scenery is nice, with the wind tugging on their clothes and the leaves rustling softly. He adjusts his backpack, taking a deep breath while looking ahead.

“It’s nice, isn’t it?” Youta asks.

Juro nods “It is…” He sighs “I suppose you’re pretty good at reading people, huh?”

“Oh, not at all.”

“Huh?” Juro blinks a few times at the response.

“I just figured that, with a motive video like the one we saw going around, everyone would be tense and nervous. There’s a lot of concern about both loved ones and ourselves, with the fear of being murdered.” Youta explains after laughing softly “I’m honestly not that great with people.”

“You seem to be though. Most people like you, well, except…”

“Zayasu-san despises me, I’m not sure why though.” Youta scratches his cheek “And to be frank, I don’t like her hostility towards me either, which really doesn’t help our relationship.”

Juro nods and sighs, not wanting to dwell on the constant fights between Kaori and Youta to much, he steers the topic away from it “So what do you do as a natural healer?”

“I personally try to ease people’s symptoms through natural means.” Youta takes a breath “Some medications don’t go well together or have troublesome side-effects, so I try finding ways to make things less painful for people who suffer from it.”

“That’s really kind of you.” Juro smiles, genuinly this time.

“Thank you.” Youta returns the expression.

They continue walking, occasionally breaking the silence, but most of the time the two boys just enjoy the serenity of nature. They part ways eventually, wishing each other a nice day. Afterwards, feeling much better, Juro goes back to his room and draws a bit.

~*~

When it’s time to meet up for dinner, which Juro had almost forgotten, everyone is there, even Kaori. Although the otologist is sitting in the far corner of the cafetaria, not making eye contact with everyone.

*Aren’t you with Zayasu-san?* Juro signs when sitting next to Ryoko.

The cardist gives him a look and puts her cards down to respond *I’m okay with trying to make sure someone won’t snap and kill. I’m not a babysitter for a classmate.*

*Sorry…*

Ryoko blinks a few times, furrowing her brows slightly. Then she just makes a gesture as to say ‘nevermind’ and goes back to her cards.

Kenji smiles “I’m glad everyone made it.”

“I’m just surprised that they did.” Eri mutters, tugging on one of her ribbons and readjusting it afterwards.

“Why did you want everyone to meet up?” Arisa asks, just eating her dinner like she didn’t have a mental breakdown earlier today.

“I’m curious about that too!” Jihun says, holding his sleeves in front of his mouth.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Kaori asks from across the room “He’s trying to make sure no one’s gotten murdered yet.”

“That’s one way to put it…” Youta mutters.

“Well, not just that. Meeting up at regular intervals also helps with bonding.” Kenji adds.

“Good relationships will increase the chance of escape and lower the chance of a murder occuring, right?” Juro asks, and the classical guitarist nods in response.

“Such an excellent idea.” Daichi says, touching his hair yet again.

Mana sighs with a small smile “I knew there was something we could do. Thank you, Yukimura-kun.”

“I guess we can try…” Kaya mutters, fidgeting with her bracelet, but she manages to smile warmly.

“If we help each o-other… No one has to die right?” Hachiro asks, looking up at Kenji.

Kenji nods with a smile “Right.”

“We just have to k-keep trying…” Chinami whispers with a soft smile, her hands folded in front of her chest.

“Getting out of bed early…” Mai groans, throwing her head back while resting her hand on her forehead “I’ll probably fail to be on time for breakfast, but count me in for lunch and dinner.”

“We can do this, everyone! I’ll do my best to protect all of you!” Minoru clenches his fist in front of him with a confident grin.

“I’ll help with that.” Hikaru says, putting his hands on the table.

After poking Juro’s arm, Ryoko signs while tilting her head *Why are you smiling like an idiot?*

The sketch artist just shakes his head with a smile, before he signs his answer *Because the motive is just unifying everyone, instead of dividing us.*

Ryoko glances around, taking in people’s expressions before she signs *I guess…* She reaches up and touches her choker, tugging on it slightly while just staring ahead.

Juro furrows his brows a little at the cardist’s reaction, but when he looks at his classmates again, he can’t help but smile. Maybe there’s still hope to be found in their situation. Not all is lost.

~*~

Upon awakening in the morning, Juro feels just a little better than when he had gone to sleep. This time he actually heard the morning announcement, so it’s all probably thanks to the fact that he hadn’t felt as bad as the day before when he tried to go to bed. While the motive video had taken a toll on him yesterday, he was able to process it and sleep well.

On his way to the main building, Juro doesn’t encounter anyone. He figures that he’s early when opening the door and only seeing Kenji, Chinami, Arisa, Ryoko and Youta there. However, the natural healer is fidgeting with his face mask and not meeting anyone’s gaze.

“Good morning, Sasaki-kun.” Kenji greets him, making a gesture that he shouldn’t ask about Youta’s behaviour.

“Good morning.” Juro responds with a smile that feels out of place.

Of course someone would be nervous, that should have been expected, but it’s a surprise that it’s Youta.

Soon, other people arrive including Eri, Minoru, Jihun and Daichi, filling the room with voices and pleasant conversations. However, when Hachiro arrives, Youta quickly gets up, almost knocking over a chair and startling everybody.

“Ebisu-kun, have you seen Ishikawa-san?” Youta asks with a frown. The tone of his voice is… urgent. Like he kept the words in and now throws them out when his concern hits its peak.

The clown flinches at the sudden question and shrinks where he stands, now that all eyes are on him. He frowns “No, I haven’t… Is something the matter?”

To everyone’s surprise, Youta mutters a swear word under his breath, before rushing towards the door.

Kenji stands up and calls out “Fukui-kun, what’s the matter?”

The natural healer closes his eyes and sighs, before turning towards the room and explaining calmly “Ishikawa-san is an early riser. While she does take a morning walk every day, she should be here by now.” He furrows his brows, tugging on his face mask “I have accompanied her the past few days, but not today. It has kept me on the edge of my seat all day…” He turns to the others and says, much firmer “I’m going to look for her!”

“Let me come with you.” Juro offers almost instantly before the others can even react, and gets to his feet to join Youta’s side.

“How about we split up to cover more ground?” Arisa mutters, not looking up at the others.

Kenji smiles “That’s a good idea, Kasai-san.”

Arisa sighs and roughly pokes Ryoko, who looks up and narrows her eyes at the knife thrower “You’re quiet and tolerable. Let’s look for that missing brat.”

“Yukimura-kun…” Chinami looks up at Kenji while fidgeting with her fingers “W-would you mind if I t-tag along with you?”

“Not at all, Shikata-san.” Kenji smiles “Let’s go.”

While others form pairs and small groups, Youta opens the door and says “Let’s hurry, Sasaki-kun.”

Juro nods and quickly follows the natural healer, who wastes no time leaving the group to look for Mana. However, he almost throws the door in Kaori’s face when opening it.

The otologist narrows her eyes and glares daggers “Really?”

“Out of the way, Zayasu-san.” Youta glares up at her, managing to look somewhat intimidating despite the height difference.

“We’re looking for Ishikawa-san.” Juro explains quickly, hoping to defuse the tension that’s building up in the hallway.

Kaori raises an eyebrow “She went missing or something?” When Juro nods, she sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose before huffing “Fine, let me help you find her.”

Without waiting for a response, she turns on her heel and walks towards the front door with long strides. Both Juro and Youta have to walk fast to keep up with her pace.

“Fukui-kun, where would Ishikawa-san go on her morning walks?” Juro asks while they walk “You know her better than we do.”

“She’d… walk through the forest… but… stay near the… buildings.” Youta almost chokes on his words while breathing heavily.

Juro frowns before looking at Kaori, her back still turned to them “Zayasu-san, could you slow down a little? I think Fukui-kun has trouble breathing?”

“Not my problem!” Kaori huffs, clenching her fists by her side “Do you want to find that annoying fuck or not?”

“Zayasu-san, please…” Juro begs, desperation clear in his voice.

“Fine!” Kaori throws her hands in the air and stops for a moment so Youta can catch his breath. She gives him a quick look-over and states “Shitty lungs? Fun fact, there’s actual medication to help with that, ultimate anti-vaxxer.”

Bending forward with a hand on his chest as he tries to catch his breath, Youta throws a glare at Kaori “Do you… think… I don’t… know that?!”

“Obviously not if-”

“Guys!” Juro cuts her off, turning bright red and shrinking where he stands when their gazes fall on him. A little softer, he mutters “Bad timing… I guess…”

Neither of the two hostile parties say anything. Kaori just turns around and enters the forest, but stays near the buildings, while the two boys follow her. It remains silent as they walk and Juro swears he could cut the tension with a knife if he had one. The twigs crack under his shoes, the only sound that they can hear.

Until Kaori inhales sharply.

"Zayasu-san, what's wrong?" Juro asks, but when he follows Kaori's gaze, he knows exactly what's wrong.

With the straw hat lying about a metre from the group, Mana’s limp body is on the ground near a tree, with one of her legs at an unnatural angle. She stares right back at them, but with cold and empty eyes.

_Bing bong, dong ding!_

“A body has been discovered!”

Juro doesn’t hear the rest of the announcement. He hears a scream behind him and catches a glimpse of pink and white from the corner of his eyes, but he barely sees it.

All he can do is stare at Mana’s lifeless form.


	6. Chapter 1 - Deadly Life

Muffled but urgent footsteps approach the area from different directions and everyone who arrives has their own reaction to the crime scene in front of them. Hikaru curses, Kenji tries to comfort a sobbing Chinami and Jihun asks Mana to wake up because the joke isn’t funny.

Upon arriving himself, Hachiro sinks to his knees while tears flood his eyes. He hasn’t even moved an inch since arriving, all the boy can do is stare while silent tears fall.

“Who… who would even want to kill her…” The clown whispers.

Youta rubs Hachiro’s upper back, a similiar gesture to what Mana usually did. And although he doesn’t say anything, he throws a glare at Kaori’s back. Fortunately, the otologist is focused on the body, touching her chin while she seems lost in thought, otherwise another fight would have broken out.

Much to everyone’s surprise, after arriving, Minoru didn’t pay much attention on the body. Instead, he had chosen to embrace Eri tightly. Although the doll maker had tried to push him away at first, she eventually accepted the gesture and is now holding onto the ghost hunter as if her own life depends on it. Her breaths are shallow and so fast-paced that multiple people have expressed concern about her well-being. Still, she keeps muttering inaudible words while Minoru gently pets her hair and tries to offer some words of comfort.

“Finally, the first blood has been spilled!” Monokuma suddenly appears, rubbing the back of his head with a smile “Well, there’s no blood, but you get the idea.”

“What the hell do you want?” Arisa reaches for a knife without even batting an eye and glares at the bear.

“You’re here to explain what the “certain amount of time” between the announcement and class trial involves, aren’t you?” Juro asks, furrowing his brows.

“Bingo! Five points to Sasaki!” Monokuma mocks “That’s right. Since the spotless students have to find the blackened during the class trial, you’re going to gather some evidence during the investigation.” He chuckles, holding a paw in front of his grinning mouth “But don’t worry. Since you’re a bunch of noobs when it comes to investigating, I’ve decided to give you guys a bit of a headstart with the Monokuma file, which contains a lot of useful information surrounding the murder. It’s in your monopads. Good luck!”

Then he’s gone again, something the ultimates have gotten fairly used to by now, although it never becomes any less unsettling.

After a moment of mainly silence, with quiet sobbing from Eri in the background, Juro fidgets with his earring while muttering “So… Should we form groups for the investigation?”

“Why is that necessary?” Kaya asks, placing her hands on her hips while tilting her head to the side “I doubt anyone’s gonna attempt murder now. One victim is enough to get out as long as you don’t get caught, right?”

“The culprit may try destroying evidence, if we don’t keep an eye on them.” Ryoko responds through her monopad, having read everyone’s lips now that people aren’t talking at the same time “But we don’t know who the culprit is, so we need to keep an eye on everyone.”

Kenji nods “Yuuma-san is right. No offence to anyone, but nobody can be left alone for now.” He sighs, touching his necklace “We should let two or three people guard the crime scene too.”

“I can do that.” Hikaru raises a hand while smiling before he puts a hand on his hip.

“I volunteer too. I can handle seeing a corpse.” Ryoko comments, holding her monopad in both hands with a blank expression.

“I’ll stay too.” Youta sighs and puts a hand on his chest. His breathing hasn't fully recovered from running yet.

“Ebisu-kun…” Juro begins, hesitating a little while kneeling down next to the boy so they’re on eye level “Do you… want to work together to… find the culprit?”

Hachiro looks up and, wiping a few tears away, he just nods in response.

“Such a tragedy that Ishikawa-san had to leave us so soon.” Daichi folds his hands with a rather solemn expression “May she rest in peace.”

“Hanai-san…” Minoru sighs, not having let go of Eri, who has ceased muttering, yet “Do you want to investigate somewhere else?”

Eri looks up at him, her eyes red from crying, and nods. For once, she lets the ghost hunter help her get to her feet before to two of them walk away, leaving the crime scene behind.

Juro lets his gaze follow the two while they leave, as other pairs either leave or stay too, before digging his monopad out of his backpack and turning it on. Her quickly finds the tab that reads “Monokuma file” and opens the one with Mana’s name. It includes information about her like height, weight and blood type, with a picture of Mana next to it, the word “dead” plastered over it in bold, pink letters. When swiping to the right, an image of her corpse appears, along with a sketch of her body with round, pink shapes in places where she was injured, her left leg and throat, along with a small spot on her head. Next to the sketch is the actual information about her death.

Juro swallows the lump in his throat and reads the file.

_The victim is Ishikawa Mana, the Ultimate Environmental Scientist._

_The body was discovered in the forest, not far away from the cabins._

_The estimated time of death is around 7 am._

_The cause of death is asphyxia. Proven by the petechiae in the skin._

_There are contusions and fingernail marks on the victim’s neck and the left leg is broken. There is also a bruise on the back of the head._

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Monokuma file: A detailed autopsy report on Mana’s death.**

“She must’ve been so scared…” Hachiro mutters, the first words he has spoken since seeing the crime scene.

“Yeah…” Juro sighs while frowning. To be alone during your last moments, while a classmate is killing you, that must have been horrible to experience “She’s… in a better place now.” He offers Hachiro a smile, hoping that it helps.

“Let’s… find the culprit.” The clown sighs, and tightens his grip on his monopad “Ishikawa-san… would’ve wanted us to save everyone else by finding the… blackened.”

Juro nods “Let’s start investigating here and then expand our search when we have a few clues to use.”

“Sounds good, I guess…”

They first approach the body, while Juro keeps a close eye on Hachiro to make sure he’s still doing okay despite seeing the corpse of someone who was probably a friend. Kaori is busy examining it, which makes sense considering she has a medical background, while Arisa is talking to the people who are watching the crime scene.

“Need me to give you a quick summary and explanation of the injuries?” Kaori offers, mainly looking at Juro when saying this “I can’t determine everything, but I think I know enough about the human body to know some shit.”

“That’s be great.” Juro nods with a small smile.

“Let’s get to it then.” Kaori mutters and pulls up the Monokuma file “I wanted to verify the injuries and claims in here, and they seem correct “So let’s start with the petechiae…” She points at the dark spots the size of a pint-point on Mana’s skin “They appear when blood is leaking from the capillaries. They can be sign of many things, including strain and infections. In this case it’s asphyxia.” Kaori adjusts her glasses, now pointing at the bruises on Mana’s neck “Contusions that are roughly the shape of thumbs, there are also a few smaller ones from the other fingers, but not all of them. Someone probably strangled her with their hands by pressing the windpipe shut.” She glances at Juro while saying this before looking back at the body “The other marks and scratches indeed match fingernails, and a broken leg is obvious to identify. I checked the bruise too, it’s right here.” Kaori pats the location on her own head “Make sure to write this shit down and share it with others, saves me the trouble of repeating it a billion times.”

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Kaori’s autopsy: Kaori confirmed the cause of death and injuries. The contusions were shaped like thumbs and a few other fingers. There were also marks and scratches on Mana’s neck.**

“Thank you, Zayasu-san.” Juro says, fidgeting with his earring “Eh… Would you mind if I ask you something?”

Kaori shrugs “Shoot.”

“What were you doing around the time of Ishikawa-san’s dead?” Juro whispers “It’s not like I don’t trust you, but…”

“Collecting alibis, I get it.” Kaori brushes it off “I slept through the morning announcement again, though not as long as yesterday, so I was asleep when she was murdered. After that I went to the main building and was… hesitating to enter, until Fukui almost slammed the door in my face.” She throws a glare at said boy, who throws a glare right back at her.

“Then you should’ve just entered!” Youta hisses, crossing his arms.

Before Kaori can retort, Ryoko throws a glare at both of them while the robotic voice speaks “Shut up. Bad timing.”

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Kaori’s account: Kaori claims to have been asleep around the time of death. She had slept through the morning announcement and was hesitating to enter the cafetaria.**

Juro mentally thanks the cardist and looks around in an attempt to find more clues.

“Sasaki-kun, look at this.” Hachiro mutters while pointing at Mana’s back.

Walking around the body, Juro kneels down next to the clown and narrows his eyes while looking at the potential clue. There’s some kind of dirt on Mana’s pastel green blazer and in her hair.

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Dirt: There’s dirt on the back of Mana’s blazer and in her hair.**

“The ribbon is missing…” Juro realizes, placing a hand over his mouth while he thinks.

Hachiro nods, glancing back at the crime scene.

After looking around a bit, Juro spots the ribbon in the grass near the tree, figuring people overlooked it because of its green colour “Found it.” He spots something else in the grass too and picks it up. It’s a piece of black rope, but not too long.

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Mana’s ribbon: Mana’s green ribbon was found in the grass.  
Black rope: A small piece of black rope was found in the grass.**

“Should we… collect more alibis?”

“Yeah, probably. Let’s start with the people here.” Juro looks around and, since Ryoko is the one nearby, he approaches her and speaks while signing *Yuuma-san, would you mind telling us what you were doing around the time of death?*

Juro translates the response for Hachiro while Ryoko signs back *Well, I was up before the morning announcement, and did some cardistry before going to the main building.* She furrows her brows for a moment *I felt two sets of footsteps though. The floorboards were vibrating too much and in a too uneven way to be just one person. Maybe that information will help.*

With a smile, Juro nods *I’m sure it will, thank you.*

Ryoko nods and turns her body away from him again to keep a close eye on the corpse, crossing her arms.

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Ryoko’s account: Ryoko was awake before the morning announcement and practiced cardistry. She felt the floorboards vibrating while in her room. They vibrated too much to have belonged to just one person.**

“Fukui-kun…?” Hachiro begins hesitantly.

Youta looks up, blinking a few times after keeping a very close eye on Kaori, before offering them a smile “Yes?”

“What… were you doing around the time of death?” Hachiro fidgets with the collar of his hoodie and doesn’t meet Youta’s gaze.

“I was in the dining hall, Yuuma-san and Yukimura-kun can confirm it. They arrived before I did.” Youta answers, gesturing with his hand while saying this “We were up early and making breakfast for the group. When Ishikawa-san didn’t arrive I was already growing concerned.”

“Hey, Fukui-kun…” Juro begins, continuing when he receives a hum from Youta “How early did Ishikawa-san usually arrive for breakfast?”

The natural healer closes his eyes for a moment and quietly hums to himself, before saying “Usually around 7:30 am. Although how long she walked depended on how early she was up, because she didn’t want to keep everyone waiting.”

“I see. Thank you.”

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Youta’s account: Youta claims to have been making breakfast with Ryoko and Kenji. According to him Mana took walks in the morning but never arrived at the dining hall later than 7:30 am.**

Youta nods and the other two boys turn towards Hikaru to repeat the question. The tattoo artist explains that he was in his room around the time of death, having just been awakened by the morning announcement, and quickly got ready to meet up with everyone else.

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Hikaru’s account: Hikaru had been in his room around the time of death, since he was awakened by the morning announcement. He arrived in the cafetaria shortly afterwards for breakfast.**

Arisa, upon being asked the same question, has a somewhat similiar story to Youta. She had arrived in the dining hall not long after the morning announcement. According to her, she had been awake for a little while before hearing the announcement, and left her room when she did.

“Did you hear anyone while you were still in your room?” Juro asks.

“No, but I didn’t wake up long before the morning announcement.” Arisa doesn’t look at the others, twirling one of her knives around in her hand “I have a fast morning routine, so I was at the main building within fifteen minutes after waking up, at most.”

“I see. Thanks anyways, Kasai-san.” Juro keeps a close eye on the knife in her hand, although Arisa seems a little less intimidating now that he has seen the very humane side of her.

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Arisa’s account: Arisa claimed to have been awake just before the morning announcement and arrived in the cafetaria not long after.**

“Get investigating already.” Arisa scoffs, pointing the blade at him “I don’t wanna die because you’re dilly-dallying, Sasaki.”

“R-right…” Juro stammers out, forcing a smile _‘And she’s back to normal.’_

Juro is about to leave the crime scene in an attempt to look for more evidence when another announcement plays.

“Investigation time is over! It’s time for the long-awaited Class Trial! Please go to the fountain in the central garden of the dorms!”

The sketch artist clutches the strap of his backpack tightly to stop his hands from trembling. He draws a shaky breath and starts walking _‘Right. I guess… it’s time to do this.’_


	7. Chapter 1 - Class Trial

CLASS TRIAL

ALL RISE!

“Let’s go over the rules of the class trial!”

Monokuma sits on his large golden throne, looking over the students who were standing in a circle, each having their own podium. The podiums have name tags on them, making sure that everyone ended up where their twisted headmaster wants them to be. Even Mana has been granted her own podium, with a monochrome portrait of her standing in the place where the others would have prefered to see her. A pink X marks her face, making it all the more evident that she is gone. All that’s left for them to do is find the one who took her life.

“With the evidence, you’ll have to figure out who murdered Ishikawa Mana! The end result will be determined by a vote. If more than half of you votes for the blackened, only they will receive punishment.” Monokuma snickers, a truly sinister smile on his face “However, if you point at the wrong person, I will punish all the innocent students, and the culprit will be free to leave the school trip! Good luck!”

“You c-can’t just thrust us into th-this without any starting p-point.” Chinami clasps her hands together in front of her, tears still shimmering in her eyes like broken glass.

“Rude.” Kaya huffs, brushing some hair out of her face while keeping one hand on her hip.

“We have to get started either way, so allow me to help you out.” Daichi smiles, holding out his arms “How did Ishikawa-san die?”

“Have you been living under a rock?” Eri deadpans, crossing her arms “It was… asphyxia.” Her voice becomes softer near the end of her sentence, hesitance shining through.

Minoru sends a concerned look her way, but Eri brushes it off, rubbing her own upper arms. She suddenly looks a lot smaller and less mean than she did before having to see the lifeless body of Mana.

“Excellent work, Hanai-san, even though that wasn’t what I was getting at.” Daichi flashes the doll maker a smile, only receiving a glare in return “I’m sorry you didn’t understand my phrasing, so let me put if like this: how did the _blackened student_ among us _kill_ Ishikawa-san?”

“Get your ego out of the ceiling. You just had a stupid choice of words.” Arisa has her arms crossed and was looking to the side, now turning her head to look at the others “The cause of death was obvious: strangulation.”

“Isn’t that still too broad? Maybe we should narrow it down further?” Hikaru suggests with a smile, holding up a hand.

**Truth bullet used:  
Kaori’s autopsy: Kaori confirmed the cause of death and injuries. The contusions were shaped like thumbs and a few other fingers. There were also marks and scratches on Mana’s neck.**

Youta sighs and adjusts his mask “So… the killer strangled Ishikawa-san this morning.”

“We just established that. Pay attention, you dumbass.” Kaori scoffs and crosses her arms.

“How c-could someone even g-go through with that?” Chinami asks, clutching her hands close to her chest while she bites her lip and closes her eyes.

“Being human, that’s how.” Ryoko’s robotic translator speaks for her while the cardist rolls her eyes.

“We found a small piece of rope at the crime scene…” Hachiro softly says before looking at the floor again, frowning “But… that was way too short…”

“I just wanna go to bed already…” Mai sighs, her elbows resting on the railing of her podium. She uses her hands to hold her chin.

“Maybe, the baddie hid the rope?” Jihun’s hand shoots up and he smiles, resembling an excited child in a classroom.

“If they hid the rope, they could’ve used one to strangle Ishikawa-san!” Minoru gasps, adjusting his goggles.

“No, that’s wrong!” Juro exclaims, drawing everyone’s attention. When they turn to look at him, he almost shrinks on spot and mutters “I mean… I don’t think Ishikawa-san was strangled with a rope. Zayasu-san noticed that the bruises were shaped like fingers.”

Kaori nods “Right, right. I looked at the body and found bruises that matched thumbs on the neck on the spot where you’d press a windpipe shut.” She taps her neck to show the others the location she’s talking about “There were also a few smaller ones that matched some of the fingers.”

“How can we trust your account though?” Youta narrows his eyes at the otologist.

“Because unlike _you_ , I actually have a medical background.” Kaori throws a glare right back at him, putting her hands on her hips.

“Don’t fight… please.” Hachiro asks softly, shivering and closing his eyes.

“There’s no need to argue over this. The Monokuma file also confirms the bruises, and many of us have also caught a glimpse of it.” Kenji reasons with everyone, mainly Kaori and Youta “It’d be hard to lie about this.”

Juro nods, smiling a little in grattitude “Yukimura-kun is right. Ebisu-kun and I also saw there were bruises on Ishikawa-san’s neck that wouldn’t match a rope.”

“So we’ve gotten that out of the way.” Eri sighs, her stance relaxing a little, although she is still hugging herself losely.

“Are you done with rambling?” The voice speaks up again for Ryoko after a moment of silence. Her fingers type away on the screen before it converts the next sentence for her “We’re on the topic of injuries, so maybe we can figure out how all of them happened while we’re at it. You’re not gonna convince me that everyone who gets strangled breaks a leg.”

“I guess Yuuma-san has a point.” Kaya sighs and runs a hand through her hair, brushing a few strands out of her face. She lowers her hand and turns back to the group “Let’s talk about this then.”

**Truth bullet used:  
Dirt: There’s dirt on the back of Mana’s blazer and in her hair.**

“It’s clear that the culprit had the intention of harming Ishikawa-san, such a tragedy.” Daichi tilts his head back slightly while looking to the side.

“Well done, well done, captain obvious.” Kaori rolls her eyes while resting one hand on her hip “Like we couldn’t tell already.”

“She could’ve broken it before she was strangled?” Hikaru suggests while running a hand through his hair.

“I guess…” Hachiro sighs.

“Isn’t the ‘how’ more important?” Youta asks the group, tilting his head to the side while touching his chin.

“Who cares?” Mai brings a hand to her head to run her fingers through her hair while she tilts her head back slightly “They probably just smashed her leg with something so Ishikawa couldn’t run.”

“That’s not true.” Juro points out. The eyes on him make his hands tremble, but it’s not as bad as it was a moment earlier “Ishikawa-san had dirt on the back of her blazer and in her hair, so I think she might’ve been slammed against the tree.”

“C-couldn’t that have been from b-being on the ground?” Chinami proposes, holding her folded hands close to her chest.

Juro shakes his head and smiles a little “It’s a good idea, Shikata-san, but the dirt didn’t match with grass stains. It looked more like small dark crumbles. If it was from grass it would’ve left green stains, and probably nothing in her hair.” He fidgets with his earrings a little “It’s good you’re thinking with us. Don’t be afraid to speak up if something I say doesn’t make sense to you.”

Chinami just lowers her head slightly, but manages a subtle nod. Jihun speaks up next, holding his covered hands to his chin “Is that even possible? Someone would have to be crazy strong to do that, right?”

“Zayasu-san, you are part of the medical field. Do you think you can help us out?” Kenji asks, holding his hand up towards her.

Kaori nods, adjusting the hair in front of her right ear “Sure, sure. Depending on the angle, it can happen that bones break when slammed against something.” She drops her hand then looks at Jihun with a smile “The culprit was probably in a fight-or-flight mode. There’s a theory that adrenaline can make someone temporarily stronger by overriding the boundaries the brain puts on your muscles. Normally you only use a percentage of your actual strength.” She smiles lightly “I don’t know the exact details since I specialize in the ears, but that’s the gist of it.”

“That makes sense. So that means anyone could’ve killed Ishikawa if stressed out enough, right?” Arisa twirls a knife around in her hand, looking down at the weapon “For strangulation you don’t really need a skill, just brute force.”

While Kaori signs a summary to Ryoko, Youta speaks up “Hey, I get that this sounds plausible and all, but should we be so quick to trust anything Zayasu is saying?” He sighs and looks at the palm of his hand with a frown.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Kaori throws him a glare “Get to the fucking point, Ultimate Flat Earther.”

Youta blinks a few times and looks up at her “I don’t see how the shape of the earth is related to this…”

“It’s not. Continue explaining, Fukui.” Eri says with crossed arms.

It takes a second, but Youta nods “Right, what I mean is that Zayasu obviously didn’t like Ishikawa-san. We’ve all seen their arguments, right?”

“I argue with whoever the fuck I want! Especially morons like you.” Kaori crosses her arms and huffs.

“Guys…” Hachiro grips his head and looks down.”

“Hey, maybe cut out the fighting until this is over.” Minori shines his flashlight directly in Kaori’s eyes, receiving a hiss from the otologist while she shields her eyes “We have to find the blackened first or we’ll die, if there is even a culprit to begin with…”

“Huh… Maybe you’re not as idiotic as I’d expected.” Eri hums while looking to the side.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“We’re getting off track again.” Kaya facepalms.

“Fukui-kun, please indulge the still clueless ones with your reasoning.” Daichi smiles and spreads out his arms a little.

“We all know you’re still clueless too.” Arisa mutters, resting one hand on her hip while the other holds a knife.

“As I was saying…” Youta fidgets with his scarf while looking at the railing of his stand “Wouldn’t it make sense for Zayasu to be Ishikawa-san’s killer?’

Juro almost drops his monopad at the sudden bluntness, Kaya’s eyes widen and Hikaru exclaims loudly “What?!”

Youta doesn’t waver, keeping his eyes firmly locked with the otologist. Kaori glares right back at him with gritted teeth, her hands slowly clenching into fists by her side.

“Hey… isn’t it too early to be accusing people?” Juro asks hesitantly, hoping to defuse the tension.

“Not at all.” Ryoko seems to have read his lips since the robotic voice answers “The crime scene is pretty straight-forward. We might as well figure out who could’ve committed the murder. Although…” Ryoko turns her head towards Youta “We shouldn’t go into it with a bias, so get over it to not be a total pain.”

“That’s a little harsh…” Kenji sighs “Very well. Let’s share our alibis.”

**Truth bullet used:  
Kaori’s account: Kaori claims to have been asleep around the time of death. She had slept through the morning announcement and was hesitating to enter the cafetaria.**

“I was in the c-cafetaria when…” Chinami doesn’t finish the sentence.

“Who were with you?” Eri asks.

“Uh… Yukimura-kun, Kasai-san and Fukui-kun got there before me.” Chinami holds her hands in front of her mouth, whispering the response.

“I was getting ready in my bathroom.” Kaya responds before sighing and fidgeting with her keychain “I doubt many of us have alibis except the early risers. It happened so early.”

“Yuuma-san also arrived early.” Youta adds and, when Juro translates for the cardist, she nods in confirmation.

“But who was late?” Arisa asks with a huff “The culprit needed time to get back from murdering Ishikawa.”

“I was sleeping in.” Mai casually raises her hand “As usual.”

Youta furrows his brows “Zayasu was late too.”

“You’re just spouting bullshit!” Kaori retorts while she grits her teeth.

Juro shakes his head “No, Zayasu-san, Fukui-kun is right that you were late. You told me yourself that you were asleep around the time of death. Besides, we almost ran into you when we left to look for Ishikawa-san this morning.”

Kaori grits her teeth and doesn’t reply.

“Why would you try arguing against something so obvious, Zayasu-san?” Kenji asks with a visible frown.

“Because she’s the culprit.” Youta glares at the taller girl.

Kaori opens her mouth to retort, but Kaya speaks up first “Did you… really do it, Zayasu-san?”

“Guys!” Juro draws their attention “Maybe we should cut her some slack… I mean, you’re, you know, kind of… ganging up on her, not that I’m saying it’s your intention or anything but-”

“Anyone is bound to refute anything said to attack them, even if it’s true. So you should stop being unbiased idiots. That’s what he’s trying to say.” Ryoko helps him out, albeit very bluntly.

“That is true.” Daichi nods “I understand your inner turmoil that keeps troubling you, but we should do our best to understand the pressure you’re putting on Zayasu-san. It’s very stressful to be accused of murder.”

“I just want to find out who killed someone as kind as Ishikawa-san…” Hachiro mutters, looking down at his hands “But this isn’t the right way…”

“I mean, I can’t judge her ‘cause I was also out cold.” Mai says with a slight smile.

“I’m sure she’s innocent!” Jihun beams with a smile “I believe in her!”

Chinami nods “I want to t-trust Zayasu-san too. Besides, it’s a l-little early to say who d-did it.”

“Looks like we disagree here, then.” Arisa hums, twirling her knife around in her hand.

“I don’t care about her feelings, she has to tell the truth.” Eri says firmly, letting her hands hang by her side “We’ll get nowhere if she keeps telling lies.”

“I guess… I’ll side with Hanai-san on this.” Minoru hesitantly says, fidgeting with some of his equipment.

Hikaru sighs “Looks like we’re split down the middle.”

Before anything can be added, Monokuma perks up “Did someone say ‘split’?”

Juro glances at his classmates before responding “Uh… yeah, I guess?”

“Excellent! That means I can show you something special! The camping site is proud to present its very own morphenomenal trial grounds!” Monokuma pulls a key seemingly out of thin air and places it into a keyhole, twisting it.

Juro looks down when a light starts glowing from underneath his podium and gasps when the podiums starts moving, clutching the railing like his life depends on it. All of the podiums take off into the air, with Minoru looking like he might have a heart attack at any given moment, and they rearrange themselves to make the students face one of their opponents in this debate. Juro is located on one side with Kaori, Ryoko, Hachiro, Jihun, Daichi, Chinami and Mai, blue lights gleaming underneath their podiums. Straight across them, illuminated by red light, are Youta, Kenji, Arisa, Kaya, Hikaru, Eri and Minoru, joined by the portrait of the victim of this case herself, Mana.

“Now, you can argue properly!” Monokuma beams with pride “Each time a person brings up an argument, someone from the other side gets to refute it. Ready?” He doesn’t even wait for a response “Go!”

“Zayasu has been **lying** to us about everything!” Youta opens the debate.

“She has only ‘been **lying** ’ about her alibi and that’s because you’re pressuring her.” Ryoko points out, even making quotation marks in the air while her monopad speaks for her.

“How can we believe her claims about the **autopsy** now?” Hikaru asks.

“We can trust the Monokuma file and it confirms her **autopsy**!” Jihun smiles brightly, holding his sleeved hands underneath his chin.

“Zayasu-san was **late** this morning.” Kaya adds, gripping her upper arm while keeping a somewhat solid expression.

“You and I were **late** too.” Mai retorts with a calm smile and a shrug.

“Zayasu disliked Ishikawa, so she has a **motive**.” Arisa narrows her eyes.

“Monokuma g-gave everyone a **motive** though…” Chinami whispers.

“So far we don’t have definitive **proof** for her innocence.” Kenji sighs.

“But there is no definitive **proof** that she’s guilty either, correct?” Daichi challenges him with a smile.

“I suppose Zayasu-san did start many **arguments** …” Minoru mutters, trying his hardest to not look down while some colour has already left his face.

“We all have to take… responsibility for those **arguments** , not just Zayasu-san.” Hachiro looks down at the railing of his podium.

“Zayasu should’ve been telling the **truth** and chose to lie.” Eri huffs.

“We can reach the **truth** together, but not if we don’t put aside our biases.” Juro gives the opposing side a smile.

“This is our answer! Zayasu-san is not the culprit!” Juro, Jihun, Hachiro, Daichi, Chinami and Mai say together while Ryoko and Kaori remain silent.

Minoru breathes a sigh of relief once his podium has lowered to the ground “I guess you’re right. We should discuss all options properly.”

Juro smiles at the ghost hunter and nods, then he looks at Youta, who doesn’t meet their eyes and seems lost in thought “Fukui-kun?”

Youta doesn’t react and Juro is about to call out to him again when Kaori suddenly exclaims “I can’t take this idiocy anymore! Do you really want to know why I was late?! Why I slept through the morning announcement?!” Kaori slams her hands on the railing, causing multiple people to flinch, and bens forward slightly while giving Youta a dirty look “You wanna know so bad, huh?! You won’t stop accusing me until you do?!”

“Zayasu-san, please…” Kenji begins before the girl jabs a finger in his direction.

“Shut up, shut up! You’re just as bad!” Kaori lifts a hand to her left ear and grabs onto something, harshly tugging on it. She holds it up in front of her, a device many would recognize but haven’t seen before.

A hearing aid.

“Zayasu-san…” Chinami breathes, but the otologist doesn’t react to it.

Kaori pushes her hair aside to place the device back in her ear, making sure it’s securely in place, and glares at Youta “You happy now? My right ear’s deaf, my left only works with this. I don’t sleep with it, so that stupid announcement isn’t gonna wake me. Is that a satisfactory reason or are you gonna keep spouting bullshit like the quack doctor you are?!”

If Youta’s eyes held some new emotion before, it disappears in an instant “Are you going to keep insulting everyone you think you know everything about, miss holier-than-thou?!” He raises his voice for the first time since their arrival “Think you’re so much better than everyone because you’re so ‘smart’?!”

“Stop it!” Juro shouts, making the two snap their heads towards him _‘Now I’m on the receiving end. What have I done…?’_ The sketch artist tries to calm his breath and relaxes the fists by his side. He looks away while his voice softens “I… I think you’re upsetting Ebisu-kun again…”

Hachiro mutters a string of inaudible words, holding his head while hot tears run down his face.

Hikaru hesitates before reaching out and patting the clown’s back, frowning himself. He looks at Kaori and Youta “Not cool, you two.”

Youta moves his head to avoid the look Hikaru gives him, drawing a shaky breath “My apologies, Ebisu-kun. I shouldn’t have raised my voice around you.” His voice sounds hoarse “Let’s… continue… please.”

Frowning, Juro nods “Okay… I guess the times of arrival then leaves us with Zayasu-san, Nakahara-san and Uehara-san as…” He swallows the lump in his throat “ _Suspects_.”

Kaori opens her mouth to retort, but receives a look from Ryoko along with a string of words pieced together by the cardist’s hands *You could still use your disability as cover. Even if it’s unlikely, you were still late and that’s just a simple truth. Deal with it.*

Gritting her teeth, Kaori looks away and neither her nor Juro bother translating Ryoko’s signs.

“I know it’s not much of an argument, but I’m lazy as hell.” Mai shrugs “Was even before this killing game drama was announced. If I had to murder someone, something as intense as strangulation would not be my go-to method. Heck, murder is too much of a hassle to begin with.”

Hachiro can’t help but choke out a weird laugh “I guess… that’s fair for now.”

Arisa rolls her eyes “Let’s continue. Do we have more topics to narrow this down?”

“Well, Ishikawa-san was killed while taking a walk early in the morning.” Youta mutters “Maybe the culprit knew about it beforehand?”

“If they did, I doubt they’d tell us.” Eri deadpans, crossing her arms “As far as I know, you’re the only one aware of the ‘morning walk’ thing.”

“I suppose I speak for everyone when saying that we didn’t know until you told us this morning.” Daichi says after a beat of silence.

“I knew about it too… but that doesn’t help.” Hachiro mutters.

“You said you accompanied her most mornings, Fukui-kun. Why not today?” Kenji asks the natural healer.

Youta responds with a sigh, after taking a moment to register the question, and says “I knocked on her door this morning, but she didn’t answer. I figured she had already left or was still asleep, since the motive drained everyone mentally. Now I wish I hadn’t went to the main building so soon.”

“If she had left already… I don’t think there’s much you could’ve done.” Juro mutters, trying to comfort his classmate “Don’t be too harsh on yourself, Fukui-kun.”

With a hesitant nod, Youta manages a tiny smile that reaches his eyes “I’ll try. Thank you, Sasaki-kun.”

“So Ishikawa-san left for her walk to be alone for a bit?” Hikaru asks “I suppose that makes sense.”

That sparks Juro’s curiosity and he bites his lip _‘Hold on… that’s not true. Ishikawa-san wasn’t alone when she left… I just need evidence to prove it.’_ He takes out his monopad to look through the evidence he gathered.

**1\. Monokuma file  
2\. Kaori’s autopsy  
3\. Kaori’s account  
4\. Dirt  
5\. Mana’s ribbon  
6\. Black rope  
7\. Ryoko’s account  
8\. Youta’s account  
9\. Hikaru’s account  
10\. Arisa’s account**

_‘That’s right.’_ Juro looks up at Hikaru “Actually, Akiyama-kun, Ishikawa-san might not have been alone when she left. Yuuma-san felt two sets of footsteps before the morning announcement.”

Ryoko nods in confirmation and starts typing “Yes. It was a while before the announcement. I was awake and felt the floorboards move. It must’ve been two people.”

“Are you sure about this?” Kenji asks her, speaking slowly so she can read his lips.

“I’ve been deaf my whole life. You’d think I know what footsteps feel like.” Ryoko rolls her eyes.

“She was right about the teddy bear on the first day, right?” Jihun adds with a smile “That means she’s super duper trustworthy!”

“I left my r-room alone this morning…” Chinami admits.

“So did I.” Arisa agrees “And Fukui probably didn’t encounter anyone else from his choice of words. Then Yukimura couldn’t have tagged along with someone else either.”

“Then the footsteps belonged to Ishikawa-san and the culprit.” Kaya realizes.

Juro nods in agreement “That’s what I think.”

“Guys…” Hachiro mutters, his eyes looking up briefly before darting away again “What about the ribbon and rope… at the…”

“Well, well, the ribbon was Ishikawa-chan’s, obiously.” Kaori says, holding up a hand while she joins the conversation again.

“And the black rope?” Mai asks.

Juro lifts a hand to his chin _‘The black rope belonged to…’_

**A. Mana Ishikawa  
B. The culprit  
C. Someone who arrived at the crime scene later**

“I think it belonged to the culprit…” Juro mutters “I might be wrong but-”

“At least try to sound convincing.” The suddeness of the robotic voice causes the sketch artist to flinch a bit. Ryoko just gives him a look.

“Right…”

“Didn’t Ishikawa-san wear an anklet made of rope?” Kaya asks.

“She was still wearing that when we found her.” Juro sighs “The Monokuma file includes pictures of the… body. You can look for yourselves… If you want to, that is.”

“He’s right.” Arisa has already pulled out her monopad and looks the picture on her screen “Ishikawa was still wearing her anklet. I also saw it at the crime scene. We’re good.”

Juro smiles and gives her a grateful nod, shrinking immediately when she throws him a glare _‘Nevermind.’_

“Now we can find the culprit, right? We have an item they left behind.” Minoru says, a little hesitant.

“Yeah, we can…” Juro sighs _‘I know who killed Ishikawa-san now…’_ He hesitantly lifts his hand and doesn’t meet her gaze when he points at her, letting his head hang “Uehara Kaya…”

“W-what are you talking about?” Kaya holds up her hands, her rope bracelet with coloured beads dangling from her wrist.

“You’re the only one of the suspects, and of all of us except Ishikawa-san, who wears a rope accessoire.” Juro tries to explain his reasoning before he bites his lip harshly.

Something seems to snap in Kaya’s head and she holds her fists to her chest “I’m still wearing my bracelet! If the rope was mine, I wouldn’t have had it! Someone is trying to frame me!”

Juro shakes his head, frowning “We have spare outfits and accessoires. You could’ve replaced it…”

“W-well, Zayasu-san could’ve taken my spare bracelet! Or Ishikawa-san’s anklet! Then leave it at the crime scene!” Kaya argues back as tears sting her eyes.

“Zayasu-san had no access to your room. And there would be no reason to replace Ishikawa-san’s anklet…” Juro almost whispers at this point. His heart feels heavier in his chest with each word and accusation.

“It’s her! It has to be her!” Kaya yells, tears now flowing freely down her face while she points at trembling finger at Kaori.

“Uehara-san… Zayasu-san can’t be the culprit…”

Kaya shakes her head “No…! No! NO! It’s her!”

the - discovered – She – body

“Uehara-san… **She discovered the body** … with Fukui-kun and I.” Juro sighs “Three people need to find the body to trigger the announcement, but I don’t think that includes the culprit.”

“Nope! Sasaki-kun is right! The culprit isn’t included in the body discovery announcement.” Monokuma chimes in.

Having lost all hope, Kaya sinks to her knees and grips the railing of her podium, resting her head against it while sobs escape her form. Then a mixture of a cry and a scream escapes her throat, almost shattering the resolve Juro has left.

He looks up when someone hits their podium and meets the grey eyes of Ryoko before she signs one simple word *Summary?*

Juro swallows the lump in his throat and nods, lifting his trembling hands to sign along with his words “I’ll… go over the crime… one more time.”

Before the sketch artist starts, Minoru steps down from his podium and walks over to Eri. He stands behind her and covers her ears. To everyone’s surprise, the doll maker doesn’t even protest, simply crossing her arms while giving Juro a look.

“I’ll… I’ll get on with it then.” Juro draws a shaky breath.

“Here is the truth of the case. It started early in the morning, before most of us were awakened by the morning announcement. The victim, Ishikawa Mana, had woken up early so she could take her morning walk when she encountered the culprit. Being very kind and trusting, Ishikawa-san probably invited the culprit to join her and they agreed. What neither of them knew was that Yuuma-san was already awake and practicing her cardistry. While she couldn’t hear Ishikawa-san or the culprit talking, she felt the floorboards vibrate from their steps and was able to identify them as belonging to at least two people.  
Ishikawa-san and the culprit walked through the forest, to the top of the hill and then the culprit acted. We don’t know if they were waiting to be far away from everyone or just snapped, but the culprit pushed Ishikawa-san against the tree, breaking her leg, and… pressed her windpipe shut. Despite her broken leg, Ishikawa-san struggled and clawed at the culprit’s hands, scratching her neck in the process. This is probably when the culprit left a fatal clue, their rope bracelet.  
Despite fighting bravely, Ishikawa-san… suffocated, and when she was dead, the culprit dropped her on the ground. They gathered the coloured beads from their bracelet, since those stood out in the grass, but couldn’t find the small piece of black rope. I think they let it be since they didn’t want to be too late and it was hard to find anyways. They returned to their room to get one of their spare bracelets, so they wouldn’t draw any suspicion, and joined the others.  
This… this is what happened, right, Uehara Kaya, the Ultimate Candle Maker?”

Kaya doesn’t respond, she just sits on her knees and sobs, completely shattered.

Ryoko sticks to signing while she responds *Not exactly a short summary, but thanks.*

Minoru withdraws his hands and Eri gives him a look “Return to your podium, you idiot. We still have to vote and I somehow don’t think Monokuma will appreciate it if you don’t vote.”

“I won’t.” Said bear confirms “If you don’t vote, you’ll receive punishment. That goes for you too, Uehara, so stop being a pathetic heap on the floor.”

“That’s mean!” Jihun exclaims loudly with a gasp.

“What did you expect from someone putting us in a killing game. Stop being so stupid and loud.” Arisa rolls her eyes.

"Can we just finish this already? I need a nap." Mai rests her chin on her hand, her elbow propped up on her podium.

“I’ve waited long enough.” Monokuma huffs “Iiiiiiit’s voting time!”

A panel with names appears on each podium and Juro looks down at it.

“Just select who you think is the culprit! It’s so easy even a crying pile of pathetic can do it!”

Juro shoots Monokuma a weak glare, before he swallows the lump in his throat and raises his hand to press the name on the screen. The panel closes again and he releases the breath he was holding, gripping his hand he used to vote with the other in the hope that it might stop shaking.

Monokuma laughs “It seems the voting has finished. Let’s see the result.”

At a rumbling sound, the students look up only to see a large screen being lowered from the ceiling to hang above Monokuma’s throne. It comes to life, the word ‘RESULTS’ written in pale yellow a stark contrast again the red and black background. It shows very simplistic figures of each of the students, including Mana, before fourteen red bars appear next to Kaya’s image and one next to Kenji’s, before the sound of a bell fills the room and confetti flutters down on Kaya’s image. Then the screen goes black again.

“Who will be chosen as the blackened? Will you make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong one?!” Monokuma beams, a sinister tone to his voice when he says the last few words.

This time a wheel of fortune shows up, the outer ring showing the same pixelated characters while the inner ring is black, save for one tile of yellow. The glowing tile moves, spinning around until it lands on the tile below Kaya’s figure and flashes red.

“The culprit who killed Ishikawa Mana is Uehara Kaya! Congratulations! You’ll get a sentimental moment before Uehara will be punished for disturbing the peace!”

Despite everything she has done, Hikaru kneels down next to Kaya and pulls her to him in a secure hug “I’m gonna miss you…”

Kaya sobs into his shoulder “I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”

Hikaru rubs her back, trying to offer his friend some comfort in her final moments, while the other students step down from their podiums and gather around for their final goodbyes. Goodbyes they didn’t get to say to Mana before she was ripped away from the world.

Daichi is the one to break the heavy silence, giving a respectful nod of his head “We’ll miss your presence, Uehara-san. You were a delight to speak to.”

Jihun rushes forward to join the hug, tears streaming down his face “Don’t go!”

Kaya welcomes the younger boy in her arms and rubs his back while her tears continue falling.

“I hope you’ll pass safely to the next life.” Kenji lightly bows his head, before going to comfort a tearful Chinami.

"Goodbye, Uehara." Mai nods.

Eri doesn’t add any words, simply standing with her arms crossed while looking away. However, Minoru does speak “Farewell, Uehara-san. I’ll give it my all to protect our classmates, don’t worry about them.”

Gritting her teeth, Arisa throws a knife to the ground, leaving the blade stuck in the floor while she turns her back to the group and pushes her hair out of her face “You idiot…”

Ryoko maintains a blank expression, not communicating with words in any way, but the cardist does throw Kaori a look. The otologist huffs and looks away, swallowing the words she might have tried to say.

“Why…?” Hachiro whimpers, on his knees, fresh tears rolling down his cheek as well.

Juro ignores the stinging in his eyes and kneels down next to the clown, lightly patting his shoulder. The sketch artist then looks at Kaya as well, as she tries to wipe away her tears.

“It was the motive video. My grandparents…” Kaya chokes out between sobs “They took me in after my own parents died… but… but our house…”

The candle maker doesn’t finish, but she doesn’t need to. Everyone understands, they were forced to witness similiar motive videos after all. This is a kind of suffering they all understand.

“Why Ishikawa-san…?” Youta asks quietly, kneeling down on the other side of Hachiro to offer some comfort too.

“It… it was like you said. She invited me… to walk with her when… when I ran into her this morning.” Kaya’s body shakes and she lifts her trembling hands to look at them “Then she started pushing me to… to talk about the motive video. I didn’t want to… but she kept pushing and played the victim when… when I told her I’d talk to someone else if I wanted to talk. And… and something just _snapped_.” Kaya chokes at, not lifting her eyes from the palms of her hands. Then she clenches her hands into fists and let’s her head hang “I _hate_ her.” She spits out, gritting her teeth “I hate her and her stupid victim complex! I would’ve been just fine if _she_ hadn’t pushed me! It’s _her_ fault that she’s dead and that I’m gonna die too! IT’S ALL HER FAULT!”

Kaya moves to stand and barge over to Hachiro and Youta, the people closest to Mana, but Hikaru grabs her by the wrists and keeps them firmly in his grasp.

“LET ME GO!” Kaya yells, tears running down her cheeks while she tries to kick and claw, but Hikaru doesn’t budge. Instead, he closes his eyes and bites his lip.

“Uehara-san, that’s enough…!” Kenji steps forward, only to be kicked in the chest. He stumbles backwards and allows himself to sink to his knees, gripping his chest while he hisses through his teeth.

Without hesitation, Arisa barges forward and holds a knife in front of Kaya’s face. The knife thrower glares over the blade, a few strands of hair casting shadows over one of her eyes “You’ve hurt enough people already. Stop it or I’ll slit your throat before Monokuma can get to you.” Arisa says calmly with a monotone voice.

“That’s not gonna happen!” Monokuma exclaims angrily, throwing his paws in the air “I’m not gonna let you take my fun away!” He huffs “Fine. If you can’t behave, I’ll get to it before you can kill the blackened. It’s punishment time!”

“No! Kill her! Kill that bitch instead!” Kaya yells, struggling in Hikaru’s grasp “She did this! It’s her fault! I didn’t do anything wrong!”

Monokuma doesn’t listen. He pulls out a red mallet, raising it above his head to hit the red button that appeared in front of his throne.

**GAME OVER**

**KAYA HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY.**

**TIME FOR PUNISHMENT!**

_A shackle appears and clasps tightly around Kaya’s neck. She screams and cries as she claws at the shackle, but her attempts are futile as she’s being dragged away._

Light Them Up

Ultimate Candle Maker

Uehara Kaya’s execution: Executed

_A strange kind of rope is tied around Kaya’s neck and she is hung above a large pot. She has to grip the rope tightly to keep herself from suffocating as tears stream down her face and she grits her teeth. Monokuma starts filling the pot with candles after lighting a huge fire underneath it. As the fire gets bigger and hotter, the wax starts to melt. Sweat forms on Kaya’s forehead and droplets roll down her face, falling into the hot wax below her. The steam and smoke being produced burn her eyes, forcing her to close them. The temperature is slowly growing unbearable and feels like it’s suffocating her, especially combined with the rope around her neck. A sudden movement startles her. She opens her eyes and can barely see that she’s slowly being lowered and getting closer to the liquid wax before the steam burns her eyes. Kaya screams in pain, and the sound echoes throughout the room. Her body is lowered into the wax and her cries are silenced.  
Afterwards, a humanoid figure made of wax is lifted from the pot and placed on the ground next to it. Monokuma lights the fuse, which was the rope tied around the person’s neck._

Juro can’t find any words to say.

He opens and closes his mouth a few times, only to realize that nothing can describe the pure horror settling in his bones. The cruelty displayed by Monokuma… it was almost impossible to believe that one person could be capable of such… such _malice_. It would be impossible if he hadn’t just been forced to witness the cruelty of Monokuma. Kaya hadn’t been spared. No mercy was shown to her, not even the slightest amount.

She and Mana were gone, the first victims of Monokuma’s twisted mind.

_Fourteen/sixteen_


	8. Chapter 2 - Daily Life 1/5

It’s silent in the elevator that takes them back above ground, making the atmosphere even heavier in the confined space. Ryoko is sitting far away in the corner, practicing her cardistry with trembling hands. Juro glances at her with a frown, but doesn’t approach her. The cardist has been very distant since meeting them and made that very clear, so he doesn’t want to bother her. Minoru carries Eri in his arms, since the doll maker is visibly shaken and gripping her head. Kaori has her arms crossed and leans against the wall, standing in a corner to preserve the distance between her and the others. She stares off into the distance, and Juro doesn’t even want to think of disturbing her.

The elevator opens and Arisa quickly steps outside, quickly followed by Ryoko. The knife thrower turns back to glare “I’m going to my room. Leave me alone or we’ll be going to the next trial right away.”

Multiple people flinch at the comment, which could be expected, but they don’t protest. Arisa scoffs and turns on her heel, leaving the group behind. Juro sighs while the group slowly disperses.

“Ebisu-kun…” Youta begins, holding out a hand to the clown who is sitting on the floor “I know we’re not exactly close, but we both got along with Ishikawa-san. So… do you want to join me for a walk?”

Hachiro hesitates, not really looking at Youta, but manages a nod and a quick glance upwards. He takes Youta’s outstretched hand and gets to his feet, before they leave.

“Well, I’m gonna take a nap.” Mai gives everyone a lazy wave and then walks away.

Juro looks behind him to see the fountain moving back into place, not even leaving a trace of the entrance to the trial room. He hopes he’ll never have to see it again, but a part of him remains too fearful to cherish such optimism.

“Juro hyung…” Jihun tugs on the sketch artist’s sleeve with teary eyes “Why did Kaya noona suddenly become so mean? She wasn’t mad at us, right?” Jihun’s throat seems to close up a little near the end as a sob shakes his frame.

Exhaling slowly, Juro pulls the short boy close to him and gently rubs his back while Jihun grabs a fistful of his shirt “I’m not sure…” The sketch artist admits with a sigh “She might’ve been mad at Monokuma, or at Ishikawa-san… but directed the anger at us. She was under a lot of stress. We shouldn’t hold it against her.”

There is no point in holding the outburst against Kaya, Juro realizes. She is gone, executed in one of the most gruesome ways by Monokuma. There is no way to bring her or Mana back, or even just have a chance to talk to them.

Juro’s throat closes and he tries to swallow the lump forming while silent tears slowly fall from his eyes. He doesn’t make a sound, just holding a sobbing Jihun close so the maknae doesn’t have to see him crumble too.

“It’s okay…” Juro lightly pets Jihun’s hair “You can be sad. We’re all sad because of what happened, some people just don’t like being sad in front of others.”

“And you?”

“Huh?”

Jihun pulls back, wiping his eyes with his sleeves “Do you dislike being sad around people?”

Juro manages a smile, although he can’t hide the sadness in his now slightly red eyes “Sometimes a little. I want to help others, but sometimes they’re too scared to reach out to me if I’m sad.”

Lowering his hands, Jihun frowns “I think you can be sad too, Juro hyung. If we can all be sad, you can be sad too, right?”

Despite it all, Juro can’t help but let out a small chuckle “I guess you’re right. Let’s go get something to drink. My throat is really dry right now and yours might be too.”

Jihun manages a tiny smile and nods “Okay.”

~*~

While steam rises from the cup, Juro holds it a little too firmly to regain some warmth in his hands. His extremities have been feeling very cold since he found Mana’s lifeless body this morning, and the events that took place during the trial definitely haven’t helped either. Is this how it’s going to be? Fighting and accusing each other until they find the blackened and watch them being executed? Or lose their own lives because they fail?

“Juro hyung?”

The sketch artist’s head shoots up slightly “Huh?”

Jihun furrows his brows a little in confusion “Why are you making that face?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I was just thinking about something. Don’t worry, Kim-kun.” Juro forces himself to smile at the younger boy.

He doesn’t seem to notice, and Jihun just smiles a bit “Call me Jihun. Everyone does.”

Juro nods “Alright then, Jihun.”

“I see you’re here too?” The two boys look up to see Hikaru. The tattoo artist smiles and pulls out a chair to sit down.

“Hikaru hyung!” Jihun’s face lights up and he smiles brightly, sitting up a little straighter.

“Hey there, little Jihun.” Hikaru smiles and ruffles the maknae’s hair, but despite the smile, his eyes are tired and a little dull “How are you guys holding up?”

“I’m okay!” Jihun closes his eyes when he smiles.

“I’m alright, I guess…” Juro says with a sigh “What about you, Akiyama-kun? Are you… okay? I don’t mean to pry or anything but-”

Hikaru holds up a hand to stop the rambling and smiles a little “I get it. I was good friends with Uehara-san before…” The tattoo artist sighs and looks at his hands resting on the table “I’ll be fine. I think everyone’s shaken from her reaction when it became too much.”

Jihun tugs on Hikaru’s sleeve and stares up at him with wide eyes “You’re not mad at Kaya noona then?”

With a smile, Hikaru shakes his head “How could I be? The entire situation was so stressful and she had been holding it all in until then… I don’t blame here for breaking down, even if she directed her anger and frustration at the wrong people.”

Jihun purses his lips, before saying “You’re really smart, Hikaru hyung.”

The tattoo artist chuckles lightly “I try.”

Juro smiles a bit. He really wants to believe it, that Kaya was just lashing out because of stress, but he isn’t sure. In the end, it doesn’t matter. He will never know.

“I think I’ll go back to my room to draw a bit.” The sketch artist says with a smile, standing up and putting his empty cup in the dishwasher “I’ll see you guys later tonight, okay?”

After the exchange, the three boys say their goodbyes and Juro returns to his room. Once there, he sits behind his desk and sighs, resting his chin on his hands. Then he grabs his sketchbook and flips through the pages, seeing the lines on the paper come to life in his mind as he recalls the circumstances under which he made these sketches. He grabs a pencil and holds it just above the paper, trying to find a way to process these thoughts that are weighing him down and suffocating him. With tears stinging his vision, he grits his teeth and puts the tip of the pencil on the empty sheet of paper, drawing the first line.

~*~

Juro doesn’t recall falling asleep, so he frowns when he opens his eyes and it’s already getting dark. He lifts his head from his arms, which he had been using as a pillow, and looks at the drawing. Unfortunately, a few tear stains have blurred out some of the graphite, but the image of Mana and Kaya, both sinking in the darkness, is still visible. They’re gone, and there’s nothing he can do to bring them back.

Looking away from the paper, Juro slams his sketchbook shut, unable to bear the image any longer, and looks at the clock. It’s already 8 pm.

 _‘How long was I asleep?’_ The sketch artist asks himself, before his stomach grumbles. He sighs _‘I should get something to eat.’_

He gets up and leaves his room. There isn’t anyone outside, they must be tired too from everything that has happened so far. There are some sounds coming from the other rooms, like running water or footsteps, but not much. The main building is quiet too, and dark. Juro’s hands tremble when he searches for the light switch, and he can’t help but sigh in relief when no one jumps at him from the shadows as soon as the light flicks back on. He quickly gets himself something to eat, making sure to add a lot of spices, and cleans up after himself after he’s done, leaving the kitchen the same as he found it.

On his way back, his grey eyes land on a small figure at the end of the wooden landing, back turned towards him, and he squints his eyes to get a proper look in the darkness. Despite the haze, he can see a blur of white and blue, Ryoko.

Juro hesitates, contemplating what the best course of action would be, but then heaves a sigh and sets foot on the landing. It creaks slightly under his foot, and each small sound echoes in the silence of the evening. Before he has even reached her, Ryoko’s head snaps back to look at him, and he gives her a small wave. No response.

The cardist follows his movements with her eyes, a blank expression firmly on her face, not even allowing him a small glimpse of what could be going on inside her head. She doesn’t sign or make any attempt to communicate, other than a few cautious glances from the corners of her eyes.

At first, Juro doesn’t attempt making contact with her either, looking ahead across the dark surface of the water, which looks much more menacing now than in broad daylight. He just sits there, with his hands in his lap, until his arm is poked. He looks to his side, immediately receiving an unamused look from Ryoko.

*Spill it.* She signs. Even the movement in her hands looks annoyed.

*Sorry.* Juro lowers his gaze to the wood of the landing, the empty space between them. He can’t even stop his hands from trembling. He doesn’t even remember what made him join her side anymore.

Another poke, to his forehead this time, and when he lifts his head again, Ryoko signs *Are you always so spineless? Get to the point.* She narrows her eyes slightly *Don’t go bothering me with your presence for no reason. It’s annoying.*

Juro flinches at the harshness of her words, but she does have a point. He is invading her personal space when, under these circumstances, she probably wants it more than ever *I…* He starts signing, biting his lip *I’m sorry. It wasn’t a well thought out decision. I guess I wanted some company. I won’t bother you any longer.*

He gets up and moves to walk away when a hand grabs his wrist, followed by an irritated sigh. He allows Ryoko to pull him back down, even if her expression is still absolutely not amused by his antics.

*I still don’t like you.* The cardist signs *Nothing personal. I don’t like anyone. But you need to stop being a spineless pushover for once.* She rolls her eyes *If you want to hang around me, fine. Just don’t expect sunshine and rainbows. I don’t do stupid pleasantries.*

Although hesitant, Juro nods and moves to sit in a more comfortable position. In a way, her honesty is refreshing, very different from the forced smiles many people, including him, have been plastering on their faces.

*Are you okay?* Juro signs to her after a while *After, you know, everything that happened?*

Ryoko visibly scoffs at the comment *If you want to play my personal therapist, just leave now. If I wanted to talk about my ‘feelings’,* She may not be able to use quotation marks when signing, but the roll of her eyes speaks for itself *I’d have opened the conversation with that.*

*Right…* Juro looks away, and receives another poke.

*Okay, seriously, spill it already.* Ryoko sighs when he gives her a confused expression *Are _you_ okay?* The sign for ‘you’ is just a little more aggressive than the other ones *You seem like one of these idiots who puts everyone before himself and then has a mental breakdown he needs saving from. Just get it out there.*

Despite her stone cold expression, there is a hint of warmth in the cardist’s eyes and Juro takes a breath before signing to her *You’re right.* He looks down and bites his lip, not getting poked this time while he sorts out his thoughts. Then he looks back up at Ryoko and continues *I guess I’m just very shaken by everything, and trying to surpress it for the sake of others.*

Ryoko nods, shifting her position to turn towards him and sit criss cross. She furrows her brows a little, holding her hands in front of her, before she signs *That’s a start.* She pauses afterwards, moving her head a little to get some hair out of her face *You know, you need to try at least acting more sure of yourself. You’re not gonna be able to convince people of the facts during the next trials if you keep coming across as spineless.*

Juro frowns and takes a moment before responding *Do you think there are going to be more?*

*I know it.* Ryoko’s hands move. He doesn’t look at her face, but he can hear her sigh *It’s stupid to pretend there won’t be more. If we don’t provoke each other, Monokuma will. It’s better to be prepared for the inevitable.*

*I guess.* Juro signs back after a moment of hesitation.

They sit in silence for a while, the sound of the wind become clearer to him now that his mind isn’t as clouded anymore. Eventually, Ryoko pokes him again to sign *Are you done? This sentimental stuff isn’t exactly my thing.*

*Right. Sorry. I…* Juro pauses *I’m done.*

Ryoko gets up and he figures she’s going to head back, but he gets poked again *To start, stop apologizing for literally everything. Let people deal with their own stupidity instead of taking all the blame.*

*Sor-* Juro stops himself mid-sign and looks up at Ryoko, who has her eyes slightly narrowed at him. Then he nods *I’ll try.*

The cardist nods in return, then she turns around and walks away.


	9. Chapter 2 - Daily Life 2/5

When Juro wakes up the next morning, it’s because of the announcement disturbing his dreamless sleep. He hesitates, staring up at the wooden ceiling, before managing to muster up the motivation to get out of bed. It’s hard, going through his morning routine today, with the dark memories still weighing him down. While his talk with Ryoko last night helped, it couldn’t cure everything he was feeling, and he hadn’t expected it to anyways. A part of him isn’t exactly looking forward to the group meeting either, where emotions and tensions usually peak, especially now that Kaori and Youta are definitely not on the same page regarding this topic. Plus, he would have to explain his absence at dinner last night. Either way, he should go. There is no point in hiding behind locked doors in his room for eternity.

Taking a little longer than usual, Juro manages to prepare himself and heads to the main building to meet up with his remaining classmates for breakfast. He thought he would be late, but when he arrives only the people who usually get here early are present. Ryoko spares him a glance before she turns back to her cards in a split second. Kenji and Chinami are sitting across from each other and talking, while also trying include Arisa in the conversation.

Juro draws a breath and sits down next to Youta, who looks like he hasn’t gotten proper rest in ages “Good morning, Fukui-kun.”

Youta flinches slightly “Oh, sorry. I hadn’t seen you yet. Good morning.” The natural healer’s face mask moves in a way that suggests a smile is forming, but his eyes remain tired.

A part of Juro wants to ask if he is alright, but he doesn’t exactly want to push the topic and force Youta to recall the memories of what took place yesterday. Still, he should let him know that he’s not alone. The sketch artist sighs “Y’know, we can make some small talk and get your mind off what’s bothering you. But if you need to talk to someone and get it off your chest, I’m here.” He offers a smile.

Despite the tired look in his eyes, Youta’s smile brightens slightly and his expression relaxes. He nods “Thanks, Sasaki-kun. Just… small talk sounds nice.”

Juro smiles and nods “What are some things you like?”

The natural healer falls silent for a moment before responding “Other than my talent? I enjoy hiking, especially in environments with beautiful nature. According to my parents, I also have an odd obsession with tea, like them.”

“I don’t know many people who’d list tea as their main likes, so they might be right.” Juro chuckles “I agree on liking the outdoors. I obviously like art and get way too excited by art museums.”

“No surprise there.” Youta smiles lightly “You’re an artist after all.”

More people arrive and when Jihun enters the room, he quickly runs up to them and almost latches onto Juro’s arm “Juro hyung, where were you yesterday?! We were worried!” The maknae says loudly with tears in his eyes.

“I kind of fell asleep while drawing.” Juro admits, rubbing the back of his head “I’m sorry for worrying you. I’m okay now.”

“See, I told you he’d be okay, little Jihun.” Minoru smiles and pats Jihun’s head.

Eri rolls her eyes at the interaction, crossing her arms while she looks around.

“Eri noona, are you alright?” Jihun releases Juro and turns to the doll maker, holding his sleeved hands up to his chin “You were very sad yesterday? Are you happier now?”

“I’m perfectly fine.” Eri responds with a slight huff.

Minoru gives her a look “Eri…”

She elbows him in the side, although it’s not very harsh “Yes, Minoru, I’m definitely the very _embodiment_ of everything nice and happy.” Eri mockingly does jazz hands “Go and be flattered.”

Juro chuckles at their antics, resting his chin on his hand while letting his other lower arm lay on the table “It’s nice to see you two get along with each other. I’m guessing you don’t think Hanai-san is possessed anymore, Asada-kun?”

“If he did, he’d be swimming in the lake right now.” Eri shrugs and examines her nails.

“Hey!” Minoru looks at her in horror at the subtle threat.

“What?” Eri looks up from her nails and gives him a look “Why are you so worried about that? Do you have something to say?” The corners of her lips curl up into a slight smirk.

“I can’t believe you still threaten me.” Minoru mocks a gasp, placing a hand on his chest. Then turns to Juro with a smile and nods “Yeah, dolls still creep me out, but I guess I’ve gotten used to Eri’s appearance. Although her personality still gives me the creeps.”

Eri elbows him again “Why, _thank you_.”

“You’re very welcome.” The ghost hunter smiles in amusement before turning his gaze back to Juro “Anyways, how are you doing, Sasaki-kun?”

“I’m okay.” Juro answers with a slight smile “A little shaken, like probably everyone, but okay.”

“That’s good to hear.” Minoru smiles and nods.

“Well, aren’t you cheery for a group who basically condemned their classmate!” A voice everyone had hoped to never hear again echoes through the room.

Immediately, silence washes over everyone’s being while heads are being turned in the direction of the monochrome teddy bear. His grin is still plastered firmly on his face, his red eye shining with malice despite the cheery tone of voice.

“Aw, don’t look at me like that! I’m gonna get embarrassed.” Monokuma holds his paws in front of his now-blushing face.

Silence.

“Please die from embarrassment.” Eri crosses her arms and glares.

“Wouldn’t that count as us indirectly killing him?” Hikaru asks.

“What kind of useless question is that?!” Kaori exclaims loudly, causing Ryoko to give her a look.

Hikaru shrugs “Hey, I’m just being safe.”

“Well, it doesn’t take much for you guys to start fighting, huh? Oh well, that makes it all the more fun for me!” Monokuma holds his belly while his childlike yet menacing laughter makes its way to their ears.

“Just say why you’re here already.” Arisa mumbles while looking ahead, turning a knife around in her pale hand, before pointing it towards the table and turning her head to glare at Monokuma “Nobody likes you. Hurry up and spill it, then leave.”

“Oh, quite a few people like me. I’m an adorable, very well-known mascot.” He turns his white side towards them while rubbing the back of his head before lowering his paw again “Well, I won’t keep you waiting and let you suffer with anticipation. I prefer despair.”

“The only thing we anticipate is for you to get lost already.” Eri rolls her eyes.

“Eri noona, we shouldn’t be mean to teddy bears…!” Jihun looks down at her, one of the few people shorter than him.

“Eh, I think it’s fine with that one.” Mai jerks a thumb at Monokuma.

“Let’s hear him out. We need to know what to expect, right?” Kenji looks at his classmates.

“Fine.” Arisa grumbles, stabbing the table with her knife.

“Remind me to add a rule to keep you from destroying all wooden objects.” Monokuma mutters before he clears his throat “Ahem, now without further ado, I have a very fun announcement for you! Since you managed to survive a trial, you’re getting a reward! A few of the locked areas have now been opened to give you more living space, entertainment and, of course, new ways to murder each other!”

Juro sighs _‘Couldn’t go one sentence without bringing that up, could he?’_

“So go explore to your hearts’ content! Happy killing!” And after those words, Monokuma disappears again. As usual, he doesn’t leave a trace. No signs of a secret passage or some kind of trick he would use to fade like thin air.

Chinami breaks the silence with a question “So… what are we g-gonna do now?”

“Explore…?” Hachiro suggests, staring at the floorboards while tracing a crack in the wood with his shoe.

“Exploring new areas would be a…” Youta sighs, rubbing his upper arm “Welcome distraction.” He tries to smile, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

Hikaru nods “Fukui-kun’s right. We’re all still tense. It’s for the best to distract ourselves for now.”

Kenji hums “Very well. Let’s split up into pairs or small groups and look at the new areas Monokuma has opened for us.” He looks down at Chinami “Shikata-san, would you like to come with me.”

Chinami looks up at him and gives a small nod. Then she turns to the group with a small wave before she leaves with Kenji.

“I’ll go with Juro hyung!” Jihun latches onto the sketch artist’s arm.

Juro smiles at the young boy “Sure. Let’s go see what we can find.”

He looks up to see Ryoko and Kaori signing back and forth for a moment. Once the conversation pauses for a moment, the cardist looks past Kaori and they make eye contact for a split second. Ryoko presses her lips into a thin line and her hand twitches slightly, before she looks away and turns on her heel, quickly walking out the room with the otologist following.

_‘Did I… do something wrong…?’_

“Juro hyung? Hellooooo?” Jihun’s voice and his hand being waved in front of Juro’s face snaps the sketch artist out of his thoughts “Are you still in there?”

“Huh?” Juro blinks a few times but smiles “Yeah, I’m fine. Just thinking. Let’s go.” He pats his pockets, trying to find his monopad so he can see the tab with areas to check if they have been updated, only to come up with empty hands “Eh… Jihun, do you happen to have your Monopad with you? I think I forgot mine…”

“Sure!” Jihun nods and shrugs off his backpack, pulling out the black and white tablet with a proud smile, holding it towards Juro with both hands.

“Thanks.” Juro smiles and takes the monopad, holding it low enough so the shorter boy can see the screen without hurting his neck and presses the tab with the word ‘areas’ to look at the map of their prison “It looks like we can go to the next floor of this building, and to…” Juro squints his eyes at the screen “The warehouse? I wonder what kind of warehouse Monokuma would set up here…” He mutters. Knowing their self-proclaimed principal, it couldn’t be anything good.

“What are we waiting for?” Jihun doesn’t even bother retrieving his monopad, but simply grabs Juro’s hand and drags him to the lobby.

Despite it still looking as innocent as it always has, Juro stops in his tracks when entering the room and bites his lip. He can’t help it. This is where they first woke up, where they learned of their horrible predicament. Monokuma had displayed his cruelty for the first time here, even if none of the students could fully comprehend how far he would go at the time.

This is where it all began.

“Juro hyung?” Jihun looks up at him with wide eyes.

Snapping himself out of his thoughts, Juro blinks a few times and shakes his head “Don’t worry about it.”

Somehow, it manages to convince Jihun, who practically bounces towards the stairs and the top floor. Juro has to adjust his pace to keep up with him, despite being taller. The wood of each step creaks slightly under the pressure of his weight, but it doesn’t bend or break.

As expected, the floor upstairs has a similiar style as everything else that in this odd park in the forest. The warm light of the lamps hanging from the ceiling don’t fully reach the corners of the room, leaving those in darkness. Unlike the rooms downstairs, this is a mostly open space with a stage that’s just slightly higher than the normal floor. Heavy red curtains frame it, which gives the entire place a very old-fashioned and almost heavy atmosphere. Ryoko has her legs swung over the edge of the stage, occupying herself with the cards in her hands, while Mai is almost draped over the stage behind her. Unlike the other two, Kaori is nearly darting around the place, trying to take everything in.

Mai is the first to notice them, lifting one hand briefly to wave “What’s up?”

“Just exploring!” Jihun chirps, smiling with his eyes closed.

The start of the conversation draws Kaori’s attention and she stops pacing to wave “Hey, hey, you two.” She approaches Ryoko and taps her on the shoulder, earning an uninterested glance from the cardist. Then Kaori gestures at the two boys and Ryoko follows her gaze.

Ryoko puts her stack of cards aside and signs a quick *Hey.*

Juro signs a greeting back to her, then looks at Jihun “Yuuma-san said hi.”

“Hey!” Jihun waves, bouncing on his feet, and Juro swears he can see the corners of Ryoko’s lips twitch. The maknae cranes his neck to look around “This room is so cool! It’s perfect for hide and seek.”

“Kinda, kinda.” Kaori smiles after the finishes translating for Ryoko, continuing to sign while she speaks “The only place you can hide is between the curtains though, or maybe backstage. But it’s definitely cool.”

Almost the second she says that, Jihun runs up to the stage and disappears between the curtains.

“Too much energy.” Mai mutters, draping her arm over her forehead “I’m just deadass convinced at this point that guy’s draining all my energy and using it himself.”

Kaori snickers, walking over to stand next to Juro “He’s such a kid. It’s nice to have that here.”

“I suppose it is.” Juro smiles, humming in agreement “It definitely brings some light.”

“Ironic ‘cause it’s pretty dark in here.” Mai smiles, tilting her head to look over at them “I’d take a nap here if I weren’t a perfect victim then.”

“Victim for what?” Jihun sticks out his head from between the curtains.

“Nothing.” Juro quickly says before any of the girls could speak up “Just continue looking around. We can go when you’re done.”

The sound of fingers snapping draws everyone’s attention *What topic are you avoiding?* Ryoko signs.

In a way, Juro is almost relieved that the cardist couldn’t hear the earlier conversation and break Jihun’s bubble, but he feels guilty immediately afterwards. He shouldn’t feel anything positive about someone’s physical limitations with communication. Besides, for all he knows Ryoko wouldn’t have said anything about the killing game.

*Murder.* Kaori signs back without skipping a beat. At least Jihun can’t see the signing from where he is and wouldn’t have understood it either way.

*No use in avoiding the subject if it’s in our face all the time, is there?* Ryoko points out, looking Juro dead in the eye *Don’t bother. If he’s blissfully ignorant about it, he’s choosing to be. Whatever you say won’t change that.*

Juro holds up his hands to retort, but hesitates. Eventually he settles with and *I guess.* While avoiding the cardist’s grey eyes that feel like they’re peering right into his head.

“Okay, I get you three wanna have your little secret, but could someone at least translate while you guys sign?” Mai asks.

“We would but…” Juro gestures at the stage where Jihun is.

“I’ll fill you in later.” Kaori promises with a smile, placing a hand on her hip.

As if on cue, Jihun appears from between the curtains and jumps off the stage “I’m done! We can go now.”

“Sure.” Juro smiles and waves his three classmates goodbye before leaving with Jihun.

They have only set foot on the final step of the stairs when Arisa suddenly stands before them. Juro inhales sharply, freezing up and nearly missing the final step.

“Arisa noona!” Jihun smiles up at her.

Even Arisa’s cold glare does nothing to scare the boy, although she fiddles with a knife on her belt “Don’t call me that again unless you want to lose an eye, got it?”

“But it’s polite.” The maknae retorts, pouting a little.

Juro puts a hand on Jihun’s shoulder and lowers himself a little to look the younger boy in the eye “Jihun, if Kasai-san says to not call her by a… honorific, right, you don’t have to. Just call her by her name instead. It’s nicer.”

“Oh, so she just wants me to call her by her first name. I get it now. I can do that!” Jihun pushes his hands together and smiles, then turns towards the knife thrower “Sorry, Arisa, I’ll try to remember to not use a honorific with your name from now on.” He bows politely.

“Whatever. Just don’t use weird titles with me.” Arisa tilts her head back a little, releasing her grip on her knives. She shifts her gaze to look at Juro “Another building’s open, the one next to this place. I finished investigating there and happened to run into you on my way, so you’re welcome.” With that, she walks past them, pushing Juro to the side so he stumbles a little before regaining his balance.

 _‘I’m guessing she still doesn’t like people…’_ The sketch artist stabilizes himself and looks at the black-haired girl climbing the stairs before he and Jihun continue walking.

“Arisa’s nice!” Jihun beams while skipping through the hallway “Telling us where to go next.”

“Yeah… she is…” Juro forces a smile. Fortunately, Jihun seems blissfully unaware of how forced the sketch artist’s reaction is. He doesn’t dislike the knife thrower, but ‘nice’ would be one of the last things he would describe her as.

Jihun pushes open the front door and almost runs straight into Hachiro. The older boy flinches and shrinks back “Sorry… I should have looked where I was going…”

“It’s alright.” Juro responds with a smile “Don’t worry about it.”

“No one got hurt anyways, so there doesn’t seem to be a problem.” Youta comments, standing next to Hachiro. The natural healer smiles underneath his face mask and pats Hachiro’s back.

Juro smiles a bit. It’s makes sense that the two of them would stick together. They both seem to still be grieving and trying to process the loss of Mana. He could only hope that they could support each other through this.

“Are you here to check out the stage too?” Jihun asks, snapping Juro out of his inner monologue.

“Not really…” Hachiro mutters, seemingly occupied with the floor.

“Stage?” Youta questions afterwards.

“We have access to the top floor. There’s a stage there.” Juro nods towards the hallway “I’m guessing you came from the other building that’s open? Kasai-san mentioned it when we just… ran into her.”

Hachiro shakes his head, much to Juro’s confusion, before Youta clarifies “We were… talking about recent events, and just came back to join the group again and explore further.”

Juro nods slowly “That… makes sense.”

“The others are upstairs too! They would be glad to see you!” Jihun beams, tugging on Juro’s sleeve for no particular reason.

That comment makes Juro’s entire body stiffen for a second, because if there is one place Youta and Hachiro should be avoiding, it’s the stage “Actually… maybe you should just join us and come to the other building to check it out.”

Youta blinks and then asks “Why?”

Hachiro catches on much quicker and glances up at Juro, if only for a brief second “Zayasu-san’s at the stage, isn’t she…?”

Juro gives the clown a hesitant nod and he swears Youta makes a face underneath the mask he wears. His green eyes definitely lose their sparkle for a moment.

“What’s the problem? Kaori noona is nice!” Jihun asks, beyond confused at this point. He is looking up at Juro with a puzzled frown.

“Don’t worry about it, Jihun.” Juro tells the maknae with a small smile “Let’s just go see the others.”

“That sounds like the best idea.” Youta mutters, adjusting his mask a little more harshly than usual with a frown.

“Anyways, let’s go.” Juro attempts to laugh off the awkwardness, but a part of him is only convinced that he just made everything more awkward.

“I don’t think it worked…” Hachiro mutters, kicking a pebble.

 _‘No need to remind me.’_ Juro scratches his cheek while a droplet of sweat runs down the side of his face “I could tell…”

“Don’t worry about me throwing shade, we have the trees to do that.” Hachiro says with a ghost of a smile.

“Seriously…?” Youta asks between snickers, his eyes have lit up again, while he holds his hand in front of his face.

“Hey, my pun dictionary is treemendous, thank you very much.” Hachiro crosses his arms and feigns offence.

Jihun giggles “You’re funny, Hachiro hyung.”

“Thanks…” Hachiro smiles a bit with a faint red hue dusting his cheeks, for once glancing up to make very brief eye contact with the younger boy.

After a beat of silence, Youta leans closer to Juro and whispers “I didn’t offend him, did I?”

Juro snorts at the very late and confused reaction, but quickly composes himself “I’m pretty sure Ebisu-kun was being sarcastic earlier, Fukui-kun.”

“Oh…” Youta furrows his brows to try and comprehend this information “How do you tell when someone’s being sarcastic?”

“Maybe you should ask Hanai-san about it.” Juro gestures at the pink and white figure in the distance “She… has a pretty sharp tongue.”


	10. Chapter 2 - Daily Life 3/5

Juro was definitely right about Eri having a sharp tongue because the first comment she makes when they arrive is “I see you guys have finally figured out how a map works and found this place.”

Minoru tries giving her a look “Eri.”

“No.”

“Kasai-san told us, actually.” Juro shrugs with a small smile.

“No surprise there, honestly.” Eri smiles and jerks a thumb at Minoru “I had to show this idiot how to do this as well, so if you need a cure for technological incompetence, let me know.”

“Thanks?” Juro says with another awkward chuckle, scratching his cheek lightly. Right, the one person who can offer help while insulting you is Eri. He looks over to see Youta making a face “Fukui-kun?”

“There doesn’t exist a cure for that other than practice, right?” The natural healer asks.

Eri straight-up facepalms “Help me, that guy’s denser than you and that’s impressive.” She glances at Minoru.

“I don’t know if I should take that as a compliment or as an insult…” Minoru mutters, lightly placing a hand on Eri’s forehead and shoving her.

“The fact that you even need to think about that should tell you something.” Eri taps the side of her head with a snicker.

“I still don’t know what’s going on…” Youta sighs, rubbing his forehead.

“I think Hanai-san was just joking… I guess…” Hachiro clarifies, playing with the strings of his hoodie.

“Can we go in now?” Jihun drags out the last word and throws his head back, letting his arms hang by his side.

“We’ll get out of your hair since you have a kid to keep busy and I’m not planning on babysitting.” Eri hums, walking past the group with a light wave of her hand “I hope you are competent enough to find a door. Have fun.”

“The shortest person here complains about our classmate being a child.” They overhear Minoru snicker after he bids them goodbye.

“I’m both proud of you and offended.”

Youta looks at the two teenagers “Are they gonna be alright? Shouldn’t we try to mediate?”

“Only if they were actually fighting.” Juro smiles lightly at seeing Eri shove Minoru while they laugh. It’s nice to see they have bonded so much “But they seem to be getting along just fine.”

Youta stays silent for a moment and observes the situation, eventually commenting “They have a weird way of getting along.”

Jihun bursts out into a fit of giggles while Hachiro shrugs with a very faint smile “Don’t we all.”

“Anyways, let’s go!” Jihun grabs both Juro’s and Hachiro’s hands, dragging the two boys along with him to the entrance, with Youta calmly following behind.

As soon as they stepped inside, Jihun’s mouth falls open and he cranes his neck to look at the shelves upon shelves of items towering over them, making even the tallest people among them look like mere insects. The light is brighter inside, presumably to be able to see the bottom rows more clearly in a building of this size. For a moment, Juro fears Jihun might break his neck with the way he’s looking around, but then the boy dashes between rows towards two of their classmates.

“Hikaru hyung! Daichi hyung!” The maknae beams and with a smile, Hikaru opens his arms to take the full force of the short boy semi-tackling him in a hug.

“I think we should look around while you watch Jihun.” Youta says as he adjusts his mask. Hachiro nods and mutters an agreement. Youta offers a smile underneath his mask and turns back to Juro “We’ll see you around.”

Juro nods and smiles “Yeah. I’ll talk to you guys later.”

He waves the two boys goodbye before they disappear between the shelves and walks over to where Jihun is chatting up a storm with Daichi and Hikaru.

“…And then you’ve got these big curtains to the ceiling!” Jihun stands on the tips of his toes with his arms as far in the air as he can reach “They’re super heavy too! So you can barely see them move.” His arms fling back to his side although he still waves them around.

“Ah, Sasaki-kun, Jihun was just giving us an update on your findings.” Daichi says with a smile when the sketch artist joins them.

“I heard.” Juro responds “Well, I guess I don’t have anything to do then since he gives great updates.” Jihun beams at the compliment, practically bouncing where he stands “Do you two have an update for us too?”

“Well, it’s a little generic, but you can find basically anything in here.” Hikaru explains, with a smile and shrug, holding his hands up “And I mean anything. Tools, clothing, you name it. There’s a ladder in the back for reaching the high shelves.” Hikaru jerks his thumb over his shoulder, and even with all the shelves in here Juro can indeed make out the shape of a ladder.

“There’s so much stuff…” Jihun breathes, looking up at the highest shelves again.

“But none of us have any money now, right? Are we supposed to just take the stuff we need?” Juro furrows his brows.

“I’m glad you asked!” A familiar voice pipes up.

_‘Oh no…’_

Monokuma pops out of seemingly thin air “You’re allowed you take anything you want. The shelves restock daily.”

Juro mentally questions how that is even possible but holds his tongue, since he doesn’t want to speak with Monokuma any more than he absolutely has to.

“That’s… very generous of you.” Daichi says with a faint smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Of course! I am a very generous bear.” Monokuma says with a blush, seeming very pleased with himself “You’ll have a hard time getting creative with killing if I don’t provide you with enough materials.”

 _‘Ah, there’s the ulterior motive.’_ A droplet of sweat rolls down Juro’s face.

“What’s he talking about?” Jihun asks, holding his hands in front of his chest while tilting his head “No one here would kill anyone. Why would anybody do that.” He tugs on Hikaru’s arm “This bear is silly, right, Hikaru hyung?”

“Yeah…” The tattoo artist smiles but it seems a little forced.

Daichi sighs, folding his hands together in front of him “I think it might be better for you to leave, Monokuma. Thank you for the information.”

“Yeah, no one wants you here.” Hikaru mutters, narrowing his eyes.

“I see how it is. How rude…” Monokuma sulks for a moment, but then disappears the way he appeared.

Jihun tugs on Hikaru’s sleeve, looking up at him “What was that bear talking about.”

Juro looks at Jihun and frowns. Doesn’t he remember that they were trapped in a killing game, or what happened to Mana and Kaya? Is this a way of coping with trauma? Juro can’t say he would blame anyone for wanting to forget about all of this, but something is definitely off with the maknae.

“Don’t worry about it, Jihun.” Juro forces a smile to comfort the boy “Monokuma’s been a bit weird since the start. You said it right. No one here would kill. We have no reason to and it’s wrong to kill friends.”

Daichi looks Juro in the eye but then smiles and nods “That sounds exactly like something I would’ve said. Great choice of words, Sasaki-kun.”

“Thanks?”

Hikaru smiles and pats Jihun’s head “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you if that bear acts weird again.”

“Thanks, Hikaru hyung! I feel super safe now!” Jihun beams, flapping his arms in the air above his head.

“Anytime. You and Sasaki-kun should probably continue exploring. There’s a generator in the back you might want to check out.” Hikaru says, gesturing at a door far to the back of the building.

“A generator?” Juro repeats, furrowing his brows.

“Yes, Shikata-san and Yukimura-kun went to check it out before.” Daichi adds “I’ll go look later. I’m sure my insight can help them, but it’s great they’re willing to go first.”

“R-right.” Juro forces another smile “What do you say, Jihun? Do you wanna go see the generator?”

“Yes please!” The boy closes his eyes while he smiles happily, clapping.

While Jihun darts off right away, Juro lingers behind to bid his two classmates goodbye. Then he follows after the maknae, who is mustering up all his strength to open the door to the generator room. However, before the sketch artist can offer his assistence, Jihun manages to pull the door open, revealing a room that appears to be more durable than the rest of the buildings. It has been enforced with grey plates Juro can only assume to be made of steel or something similiar. He’s not really familiar with these materials.

Chinami shifts her head to look at them when the door opens with a small noise. She holds her hands to her chest, eyes a little wide in surprise “Sasaki-kun, Jihun, are you here t-to explore?”

Both boys nod in response, with Jihun continuing to carry his aura of excitement wherever he goes.

“We spoke to Akiyama-kun and Takita-kun. They told us about this place.” Juro scratches his cheek while he smiles.

Kenji nods, bringing a hand to his chin “That’s good. The more people who have seen this place the better. It can help us remember what’s stocked here.”

Chinami looks up at Kenji, having to tilt her head back to look at his face, but he simply gives her a reassuring smile, one that doesn’t quite reach his eyes. The weight of the words left unspoken lingers in the air. No one can deny the heavy implications those few sentences carry.

Well, no one except Jihun.

“This thing is so big! How can people build something this big?” Jihun runs up to the generator, past the other two, while holding his arms in the air like a V above his head. Once he is standing in front of it, he cranes his neck and puts his hands in front of his chest “Woah… so cool~!”

“Yeah, it’s really b-big.” Chinami agrees with a smile “People c-can do impressive things.”

“I think this generator is what powers the entire place and all buildings. That’s why it’s so massive.” Kenji walks up to it as well, Juro following behind.

“That makes sense.” Juro hums. They all look so small and insignificant to everything in this warehouse. Could that be the way Monokuma thinks of them? As simple creatures who don’t matter so he can use them for his twisted entertainment?

“Then why aren’t there cables everywhere?” Jihun pipes up.

“They’re underground.” Kenji responds “They also do that in places like cities and everywhere else. It makes everything less messy and keeps it out of sight.”

“Ooooh.” Jihun nods and hums to himself “I see, that’s very, very smart.”

“Is there anything that could turn the generator on and off?” Juro asks, tearing his gaze from the generator to look at Kenji.

However, Chinami is the one who answers, fidgeting with the hem of her poncho “We haven’t f-found one yet. Or anything else th-that might be controlling the generator.”

Kenji nods, he had been looking at the figure skater to indicate he’s listening but now turns to Juro “Maybe Monokuma controls it from an external source.”

“You’re probably right.” Juro muses “There are also these monitors Monokuma uses for announcements and the cameras, so whoever is behind this probably has a way to control it from a distance.”

“Well, it’s very nice of them to help us!” Jihun chirps, closing his eyes in a smile “I’m not good with fancy technology stuff.”

Juro blinks a few times, pressing his lips together. The sheer ignorance Jihun displays to their predicament is becoming very concerning, but he can’t just ruin it. After all, ignorance is bliss.

Besides, he doesn’t want someone as pure and cheerful as Jihun to shoulder the burden of this killing game, of knowing that anyone could die at any given moment. He’s too young.

All of them are too young.

Before Juro could dwell on the injustice of how Monokuma could strip their innocence from them like that, Kenji speaks up again “Well, maybe we should go back to the main building. There’s still some cooking that needs to be done.”

Juro nods “Yeah, you’re right.”

“I’ll help you, Yukimura-kun.” Chinami offers, folding her hands together.

“Thanks, Shikata-san.”

“Juro hyung,” Jihun tugs on his sleeve and smiles “Can you teach me how to draw?”

“Eh, sure. I can show you the basics.” Juro says while walking towards the exit.

“Yay! I’m gonna be super good, just like you!”

“Of course, but art requires practice. So be patient, okay?”

“I’ll be super duper patient! You’re gonna be amazed!”

Juro can’t help but smile at this “I’m sure I will be.”


	11. Chapter 2 - Daily Life 4/5

The rest of the day and the one after are uneventful. There’s still the usual tension between Kaori and Youta, with Kenji and Hikaru usually serving as mediators to keep them from being outright hostile. Quite a few people, while quiet about it, are still visibly confused at the newfound friendship between Eri and Minoru.

Juro has found himself showing Jihun a lot of his work while also teaching him a few tips and tricks. But today, the sketch artist finds himself in the company of the reserved cardist instead, after asking her to teach him something.

He is surrounded by other Ultimates. He might as well learn from them.

He watches as Ryoko seperates the stack of cards in two equal halves, then uses her other fingers of the same hand to raise the bottom stack above the other and skillfully switches them. She glances up and hands him the stack of black cards with beautifully designed blue symbols.

*That’s the Charlier cut. The theory is really simple, but I expect you to drop one half at least twice so never try this where you can lose a card easily.* She signs, and it almost seems like her cold grey eyes are giving him a silent warning.

Juro nods. The two students have found themselves in the room where they first woke up, it almost feels like an eternity has passed since then. The students have adapted pretty well to their terrifying circumstances, but Juro knows it’s only the calm before the storm. He expects Monokuma to pop up with a new motive any second at this point.

Making an attempt at the Charlier cut, it goes well initially until he has to swap the positions of the two halves. As Ryoko predicted, when Juro’s hand slips he drops most of the cards and they scatter on the couch between them. He apologizes to Ryoko, but she just brushes it off, reminding him that he’s merely a beginner so she wasn’t expecting much.

*I lost a lot of cards by dropping them when I started out.* Ryoko picks up a card, flipping it between her fingers before placing it back on the stack in Juro’s hand *I still do. It happens when you learn a new cut.*

Juro just gives her a grateful smile and continues to gather the scattered cards. Afterwards he allows Ryoko to give him a few pointers on his grip and listens to her advice before he attempts again.

He’s not sure if his poor beginner skills are to blame this attempt, because when he is about to switch the stacks a second time, the monitor comes to life, revealing Monokuma holding a glass of a fancy drink, maybe champagne “Ahem, attention please. All students, please assemble in the living room for a very special announcement! Everyone who doesn’t will be punished~.”

Ryoko raises an eyebrow, looking at Juro, and he quickly signs *Announcement.*

Her expression returns to its usual coldness after asking him the silent question and she nods *Motive?* She begins gathering her cards and putting them back in their box.

*He only mentioned he has an announcement but yeah, I expect a motive.* Juro hands her the cards he gathered *At least we’re already in the right place.*

After nodding, Ryoko puts her deck of cards back in the small bag strapped to her thigh. Juro turns his attention to the door when it creaks open. Kenji, Youta and Chinami arrive shortly after the two finish cleaning up the cards. They exchange pleasantries and Juro almost offers a translation for Ryoko, when he catches her glancing up at them briefly, only to shift her gaze back to a wall and rest her chin on her hand. It seems she doesn't have an interest in talking to them.

Others arrive soon after. Minoru accompanies Eri. Daichi and Hachiro seem to have picked up Mai on the way, who immediately plops down on a couch. Jihun practically drags in Hikaru and Kaori, for some reason looking excited. Glares are exchanged between Youta and Kaori, before Hikaru tugs the latter away and the otologist begrudgingly sits down, crossing her arms. Arisa is the last one to arrive, having a scowl on her face and muttering what sounds like a string of curse words under her breath.

“Finally! Everyone’s here! Took ya long enough.” Monokuma pipes up, throwing his paws in the air after making his appearance out of nowhere.

“Oooh, you don’t think it might be because nobody likes you?” Eri deadpans, earning a gentle elbow to the side from Minoru, who gives her a look.

“Yup, no one was looking forward to listening to your bullshit again.” Arisa doesn’t even spare Monokuma a glance. Instead she occupies herself with the way the light reflects off the blade of one of her knives.

“I can’t even show up without being ridiculed by you. Learn some manners…” Monokuma sulks.

“Yeah, why’re we being mean to the plushie?” Jihun asks, holding his hands in front of him.

“Plushie?” Monokuma repeats, his face red and showing his claws.

“That’s why…” Hikaru sighs.

“Hey, hey, how about you just stop being a spiteful little bitch and don’t get upset over some name-calling when you kidnap a bunch of people, pathetic wind-up toy?” Kaori huffs, narrowing her steel blue eyes while leaning forward.

“I agree Monokuma has no leg to stand on, but… maybe we should listen to what he was trying to announce?” Juro suggest. He almost stops mid-sentence, but he can feel a certain someone’s eyes on him, so he keeps going despite his voice getting a bit softer near the end.

“You want us to cooperate with him…?” Hachiro asks, glancing up to make brief eye contact with Juro. There’s no accusation, just curiosity.

“What. The. Fuck?” Kaori looks at him “Are you nuts?!”

“I… just meant that the motive won’t disappear, if we don’t listen to it.” Juro looks away, rubbing his upper arm.

“I agree with Sasaki-kun.” Kenji’s voice causes the sketch artist to look up. The classical guitarist crosses his arms and sighs “Monokuma is going to cause trouble for us either way. It’d be better to know _what_ that trouble is gonna be.”

“Yeah, besides, arguing with that thing is a pain.” Mai says, putting a hand of the back of her neck to pop a joint “And a waste of effort. He’s not gonna listen.”

“And maybe we shouldn’t provoke someone who can… y’know…” Minoru makes a cutting motion along his neck.

“It seems everyone has finally reached the same conclusion as I did.” Daichi smiles with a soft sigh “Well, Monokuma, did you want to share your announcement?”

“Riiiight.” Monokuma says, then he straightens up “Since it went so well last time and I’m getting a little bored, I present you with the motive!”

_‘Of course…’_

“Are you excited? I know I am! Drumroll please…”

Dead silence.

“Wow, you guys sure are a bunch of party poopers.” Monokuma clears his throat, while Juro holds his hands in front of him to sign a translation for Ryoko “We invited someone else on this trip, and they’re hiding in this forest. You might know them veeeeery well~.” Monokuma says in a sinister but somehow still cheery tone “Upupupu, that’s all from me. Happy killing!”

Just as he has always done before, Monokuma disappears without leaving a trace. It remains silent for a little while longer, until Kaori voices pretty much everyone’s thoughts.

“What the fuck is this motive?”

“Oh no, he came up with a trashy motive. How horrible.” Eri mutters.

“Shouldn’t we be happy that it’s a bad motive?” Youta asks, and the only response he receives is a facepalm from Eri.

“Yeah, it’s b-better if it’s bad, right?” Chinami agrees, fidgeting with the fur trim of her poncho.

"Sarcasm? Anyone?" Eri mutters while pinching the bridge of her nose, before Minoru pats her head, mocking pity. She elbows him.

“Watch it still screw us over. If Monokuma is really that stupid, I’d have to wonder how he managed to kidnap sixteen people without getting caught.” Arisa huffs, holding a knife in her hand. She has been standing the whole time “Although I have no clue how it’s supposed to be much of a motive if Nakahara and I can just immobilize them from a distance. Easy.”

Mai breathes in and lifts a hand “Correction…” She lazily points a finger at Arisa “Just you.”

“Do you not have a bow and arrows?” Juro asks.

“Oh, I do. But no motivation.” Mai shrugs, putting her legs on the couch she claimed for herself and folding her hands on her stomach “Why should I? Kasai has enough aggression for a dozen people.”

“Okay, shut it, you lazy bitch, or I’ll unleash ‘enough aggression for a dozen people on you’.” Arisa narrows her eyes, pointing her knife in Mai’s direction.

“I think that’s enough.” Kenji says, walking up to Arisa and gently pushing her arm down “I do think it’s a good idea for you to keep an eye out, Kasai-san. Nakahara-san, Akiyama-kun, it would be appreciated if you could as well. You three seem to be the most physically capable out of all of us.”

Hikaru gives a firm nods “Of course. I’ll help protect the group.”

Mai exhales, throwing her head back “Fine… I’ll bring my bow in case anybody sees stuff.”

Kenji nods “Thanks, you two.” He sighs, fully turning towards the others “We should avoid going somewhere alone more than ever.” He looks at Youta “Fukui-kun, if you want to take a walk in the woods, please take Kasai-san, Nakahara-san or Akiyama-kun with you.”

“Please don’t bring me.” Mai groans “Nothing personal.”

Youta nods “It’s fine. I understand.”

“Should we also be… careful to stick with people who might not have as much physical strength…?” Juro asks after he finishes a quick translation of the extra measures to sign language.

“That might be a good idea.” Kenji agrees “If people are comfortable with it, at least.” He looks at Chinami “Shikata-san, you can stick with me if you want to.”

Chinami looks up at Kenji, then nods “Yeah, I think that’s a g-good idea.”

“I guess I can pick you up too if that guy’s busy.” Arisa huffs, rubbing her forehead and looking away “Just… shoot me a message or something…”

“Thank you, K-Kasai-san.” Chinami smiles gently.

“Don’t mention it.” Arisa grumbles, crossing her arms.

“Well, Eri, you’re stuck with me now.” Minoru puts and arm around her shoulders and flashes a grin.

“Oh _lovely_.” The doll maker huffs, but she leans back slightly and closes her eyes.

Kaori looks over at Juro “Wanna help her?” She asks and gestures at Ryoko, then signs the suggestion for the cardist.

“Sure, if Yuuma-san is okay with that…” Juro looks at said girl to see the response she’s giving Kaori.

*I don’t like people, but I like dying a lot less, so okay.* Ryoko looks at the both of them, and then directs the next comment at him too *Guess it could be worse.* She gives Kaori a pointed look *But I’m not babysitting your stupid behaviour of getting into fights.*

Juro is about ready to deal with an outburst, but to his surprise, Kaori just gives a short snicker and signs *Fair enough.*

He sighs in relief, looking over at the others “Fukui-kun, will you be okay…?”

“I can accompany him… but I’m not very good at… f…. fighting either…” Hachiro mutters, very focused on the hands in his lap.

“In that case, let me offer you my assistance.” Daichi brushes some hair out his face and smiles.

“Well then, Jihun, do you wanna hang out with me?” Hikaru asks, smiling down on the boy who is swinging his legs back and forth.

Jihun looks up at the tattoo artist and his face lights up “Yeah! Let’s have lots of fun together, Hikaru hyung!”

“I don’t think I’ll leave my bed much so… don’t worry about lil’ old me.” Mai yawns.

Kenji makes eye contact with everyone and nods “We should be safe then. Nakahara-san, if you want company, send people a message.”

“Sure…”

“Alright.” Kenji looks back at the group “I think we can safely leave now.”

~*~

That day and the one afterwards, Juro spends some more time with Ryoko, sometimes accompanied by Kaori. Ryoko gives in to teaching them both a few more cuts and flourishes, which they mostly butcher completely, much to Kaori’s frustration and Juro’s mild amusement. However, Juro can tell he’s getting a little better at them, although he still lacks the flexibility in his fingers to move the cards as freely as the Ultimate Cardist herself. But he doubts he’ll ever get on her level of skill.

Since Ryoko isn’t the most social person and likes her alone time, Juro does get quite a lot of time to himself.

 _‘Maybe I should talk to some of the others.’_ He thinks to himself, closing his sketchbook and standing up. When he goes to lock his door after leaving the room, he pats his pockets _‘Where… are my keys?’_

He sighs and empties his bag, looking for said objects. Eventually he finds them, although he doesn’t remember putting them in the front pocket of said backpack. Oh well, he found them.

Juro locks the door, then gets on his way to hopefully talk to some of his classmates.

Because of the motive, most people are hanging out in either pairs or small groups, so it’s hard to find someone to talk to. He doesn’t want to end up awkwardly third-wheeling an existing conversation. Maybe Mai would be available?

Then again, she was probably taking a nap.

“Sasaki.”

Juro freezes up when he hears the calm and calculated voice of Arisa. He slowly turns his head towards her after plastering a smile on his face “Yes…?”

Arisa leans against the wall of the dorm building roughly next to the door, her arms crossed “Are you gonna go off on your own?”

“Uh, I guess I was planning to?” Juro rubs the back of his neck “Why?”

The knife thrower gives him a look and raises and eyebrow “It’s a very efficient way to get your ass killed by whoever is out there.”

“Right…”

Arisa sighs, pushing herself off the wall and walks up to stand next to him “Stop moping. I’ll accompany you.”

Juro blinks a few times and just stares at her. Was this the same girl who threatened him almost upon their arrival?

“What?” Arisa narrows her eyes “Get to walking or I’ll add another hole to your ears.”

“R-right.” Juro chokes out and picks up his speed to catch up with her _‘Yup, she’s definitely the same.’_

“So where are you going?”

“Just the main building, I think.”

Arisa nods and they continue walking in silence. It’s heavy and awkward, an uncomfortable feeling settling in Juro’s gut. He fidgets with the strap of his backpack, trying to look anywhere but at Arisa, so for a moment he simply observes the dirt trail and grass underneath his feet. What if the motive is aimed at her? What if she’s just luring him away to kill him?

“Is there anyone you’d like to talk about?” Arisa asks, causing his eyes to snap up.

She’s still looking at their surroundings, not taking her gaze off it for a split second. A knife is gripped tightly by her hand, its blade glinstering in the sunlight. He notices a few small scars on her hands. It’s not very hard to figure out how she obtained those.

“I’m not good at… this social stuff.” Arisa mutters begrudgingly. She glances back at him briefly “And you should pay more attention to your surroundings. Someone can sneak up on you at any second, that’s how oblivious you are.”

Juro blinks at the sudden advice, but a small smile appears on his face “Yeah, you’re right. Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” She grumbles, a pink hue appearing on her cheeks.

_‘Is she… embarrassed?’_

“Well, what do you wanna know?”

“Oh, um…” Juro pauses, opening and closing his mouth a few times.

A question to ask Arisa. He can’t make it too personal, otherwise it’ll just get awkward because of a heavy subject she doesn’t want to talk about. Maybe something like that would make her want to put a knife through his head too. That’s no good. He shouldn’t be thinking about worst-case scenarios like this.

“Eh, how did you get publicity?” Juro says with a hint of hesitation “Since, y’know… we have to be noticed to be scouted.”

“I performed in a circus as knife thrower. A guy from the academy saw a show and scouted me.” Arisa says simply.

“Huh… that’s cool.” Juro smiles a little “Have you been with the circus long?”

“Five… six years, I think. My father owned it, that’s how I got in.”

“Sounds nice.”

“Yeah.” Arisa mutters, stopping in front of the main building “Well, here you go. I’m gonna go to see what Yukimura and Shikata might be up to.”

“Thank you.” Juro sets foot on the stairs, but looks back at Arisa “You’re pretty close with them, huh?”

“Mostly Yukimura. Shikata just happens to hang around him a lot. They get along a lot better with each other than I do with either of them.” Arisa is about to walk off but then looks at Juro and narrows her eyes “Don’t think anything of it. I’ll put a knife through your skull if you go around gossiping behind my back.”

Throwing his hands in the air, he chokes out “Don’tworryiwon’t.”

Arisa takes a second to progress what he said, then says “Good.” And walks off.

Juro releases the breath he had been holding, dropping his hands and slumping over “I’m still alive…”

“You survived chatting with Kasai-san. Impressive.” A voice says behind him.

Freezing up, Juro slowly turns his head to see who the owner of the voice is. His entire body relaxes all over again to find Hikaru resting his arms on the railing.

The tattoo artist raises a hand to flash a peace sign, grinning “What’s up?”

“Akiyama-kun, you almost gave me a heart attack.” Juro exhales, placing a hand on his chest.

“My bad, didn’t mean to scare you.” Hikaru fully turns towards Juro when the sketch artist has climbed the stairs to the veranda “I’m surprised to see you talking to Kasai-san. You’re usually intimidated by her.”

“Honestly… I still am, a little…” Juro walks up to the railing, leaning his elbows on it. He has to crane his neck to look up at Hikaru “But I think she’s been opening up a little since befriending Yukimura-kun.”

Hikaru hums and nods “Yup. I think so too.”

“Isn’t Jihun with you?” Juro asks after looking around for a moment and not spotting the hyper maknae anywhere. He doesn’t want to talk much about Arisa in case she actually goes through with her threat of putting a knife in his skull.

“He’s probably still with Asada-kun.” Hikaru smiles “They were gonna spend time together since Hanai-san wanted some alone time today.”

“That makes sense.” Juro agrees. He still had a hard time comprehending the seemingly newfound friendship between Eri and Minoru. Even Arisa’s interactions with Kenji make more sense to him, since they didn’t start out with such a major clash.

“I’m guessing Yuuma-san also wanted alone time. Or is she with Zayasu-san?”

Juro looks up at the tattoo artist “Alone time.”

Hikaru hums, leaning back slightly while still holding on to the railing “Y’know, I’m glad you and Zayasu-san know sign language. Otherwise it’d have been pretty hard to communicate with Yuuma-san. She’d probably just feel isolated and alone then.” He says, looking down at Juro “How did you learn?”

“You mean sign language?” Juro waits for a nod of confirmation before answering “My little sister was born deaf. Our family learned sign language for her.”

“That’s really sweet of you.” Hikaru smiles “I get the older brother instincts, I have a little brother myself.”

Juro smiles “Looks like we have something in common. We’re both the big brothers in the family.”

“Yup.” Hikaru grins before his smile turns calm and his eyes become a little sad, while he rests his elbows on the railing again “I miss my family a lot, but I’ll see them again when we all find a way to escape together.”

“I get that. I miss them too…” Juro sighs and offer Hikaru an assuring smile “But we’ll find a way and see them again.”

Hikaru nods, smiling, then pushes himself away from the railing “Anyways, I’m gonna cook dinner for the group. Do you wanna help out?”

“Sure.”


	12. Chapter 2 - Daily Life 5/5

After dinner, Juro heads to the stage and pulls one of the chairs to the window in the room. He liked the mesmerizing view he got sight of the last time he was up here, and with the sun slowly setting, orange rays enter the room through the window, the scenery has become beautiful. There’s some chatter coming from downstairs where the others still are, and creaking from the chair he’s sitting on, but all in all it’s very serene.

Juro puts his backpack on his lap and takes out his sketchbook and a few pencils, which he arranges on the windowsill on his right. Afterwards he puts his backpack next to him on the ground, the floor protests with a small creak, and starts sketching out the landscape.

Minutes turn to hours while time passes. Orange light turns red as it slowly fades away and Juro has to rely on the light from lamps. He is mostly drawing from memory at this point - the only thing he has ever been good at remembering is scenery and images. Besides, it’s fine if the sketch ends up not being a perfectly accurate representation of what he has seen. He doesn’t always have to make the most realistic art possible.

He barely notices how it’s getting dark already, since he has lost track of time, and how quiet it is downstairs. Most people must have returned to their dorm rooms.

Suddenly, he hears a scream, an utterly terrified and harsh scream.

Juro drops his sketchbook on the chair, a pencil clattering on the ground, and bolts down the stairs. He almost trips over his own feet. His own heartbeat overwhelms his hearing, and it's accompanied by the sound of that scream still echoing in his mind.

He slams the door open and sprints to where he sees the blue light of a Monopad on the landing. He skits to a halt, nearly toppling into the gaping hole in the wood and almost stepping on the pale hands of Ryoko. She looks up at him and for the first time ever the mask is off and she reveals this look of pure and utter terror. Her feet just break the shimmering surface of the water.

Gritting his teeth, Juro falls to his knees and grabs Ryoko’s wrists.

“Trust me.” He does his best to speak clearly, but his entire body is shaking.

Grey eyes wide, Ryoko lifts one trembling hand to grab his wrist too. He pulls her up and, as soon as she can, she uses the hand still holding onto the edge to push herself up. Her Monopad lays long forgotten on the landing, as they nearly step on it.

Still on his knees, Juro exhales when Ryoko suddenly collapses against him. At first he thinks she’s fainting, but when her arms hug him tightly he can tell what’s actually happening. Her entire body is shaking and her breathing is frantic.

Knowing he can’t give her words of comfort right now, Juro simply wraps his arms around her in an attempt to make her feel secure. He lowers his head slightly, trying to calm his own racing heartbeat and heavy breathing. He doesn’t even want to think about what might have happened if he hadn’t been a forgetful idiot who loses track of time more often than not. Would she have been able to swim back? The water is deep here and they are pretty far from the shore. Especially with the hit her arms took from grabbing on, she might not have made it.

_‘Someone tried killing her.’_

The realization dawns on him and Juro immediately tries to push it away, to make excuses. Maybe the wood was just rotten, this place is old after all.

But Monokuma would never allow someone to die in an accident like this. It would be too boring for him. Juro harshly bites down on his lip, but forces himself to relax a little when a metallic taste fills his mouth.

He takes a shaky breath, his head lowered slightly but eyes wide open, darting around to not lose sight of his surroundings. It’s alright. She didn’t die and they don’t have to go through another trial, for now at least.

It takes a while, and Juro waits patiently, but eventually Ryoko pulls away. She exhales slowly, lifting a trembling hand to rub her forehead. She looks exhausted and he can’t blame her.

“Hey, are you okay?” Juro can’t help but say the words while signing them, a frown etched on his face.

Ryoko doesn’t meet his eyes, but just keeps looking ahead while furrowing her brows. She closes her eyes for a moment and nods a little too quickly. She sighs and rubs her temples with both hands.

Juro bites his lip, then reminds himself not to, or rather the pain does. He holds his hand in front of his chest, contemplating if he would be overstepping a boundary. After what she just went through, he doesn’t want to add more stress to it. But on the other hand, he doubts she would feel much better magically if he doesn’t at least try.

So he starts signing *You know… you don’t have to be strong all the time.*

Ryoko blinks a few times, pressing her lips together into a thin line but Juro continues.

*I know you don’t like talking about feelings!* He signs rapidly *But…* He looks down at his hands while they move, *don’t force yourself to keep it in. I won’t tell anyone or judge you for what you’re feeling.*

She hesitates for a moment, then sighs and holds her hands in his field of vision before signing *Thanks, but I don’t want to talk about it.*

Juro looks up again, but she’s already looking to the side, placing a hand on her throat. He exhales, then smiles gently before tapping her on the shoulder so she looks at him *Okay.* He nods *Let’s get you something to drink. It looks like you hurt your throat.*

Ryoko hesitates for a moment but then nods, picking up her Monopad and looking it over. It’s a little dirty with a few scratches, but not broken. She sighs, looks up at Juro for a second and starts walking, gesturing for him to tag along.

~*~

They don’t talk much during the remaining time, but Ryoko clarifies that she saw light on the island in the centre of the lake, but didn’t want to add to the tension already hanging in the air by alerting everyone else. Afterwards they collect Juro’s art supplies and return to the dorms.

In the morning, Juro meets up with her, Kenji and Chinami. The sketch artist doesn’t bring up the incident again and neither does Ryoko. When he casts a glance at the landing, it has been repaired already like nothing ever happened. Juro brushes off Kenji’s concerns when the classical guitarist asks if he's okay, claiming that it’s just the motive that’s bothering him. The others seem to accept it as a logical reason, much to Juro’s relief.

Breakfast is uneventful, similiar to all the ones they have had before, even with the two girls missing. Hachiro and Ryoko mostly keep to themselves, although they do occasionally talk to Youta and Kaori respectively, who have thrown each other multiple glares over breakfast. Mai seems to consider breakfast is a good time to catch up on sleep, having folded her arms on the table to use as a pillow. The others mostly talk among themselves, mainly in the little friend groups that seem to have formed over the past few days. Juro himself exchanges some small talk with Minoru, with the occasional insult thrown in by Eri.

“Guys!” Jihun suddenly exclaims loudly, throwing his arms up “Attention! Daichi hyung is gonna say something!”

Daichi clears his throat, then smiles a bit and reaches out to pat Jihun’s head “Thank you, Jihun.” He looks at the others “Well, we were discussing earlier that maybe, to relieve some tension, we could do something together?”

“Did you have anything in mind?” Kenji asks, resting his elbow on the table and leaning forward slightly to look at the school idol.

“Well, since we have access to the stage, I’d suggest a talent show.” Daichi responds with a relaxed smile, closing his eyes briefly.

“A talent show?” Eri raises an eyebrow.

“Yeah, it sounds fun, right?” Hikaru grins, patting Jihun’s head “It was this little guy’s idea, so we can’t take all the credit.”

“Well, we do have an otologist here in case I give everyone hearing loss with my screeching.” Eri says with a shrug, leaning back in her chair.

Kaori snickers “Unfortunately, we can’t fix damage done by noise yet. Sorry, Hanai-chan.”

“Hey, I won’t be the one getting hearing loss.”

“Then do something else?” Minoru lightly pokes her forehead, only to receive a comment about how the doll maker doesn’t perform.

“I don’t mind.” Arisa mutters “I’ve done stuff like this before.”

“Can I just be the audience?” Mai asks “I’m really good at that.” She gives a lazy thumbs up.

“Same here. I c-can’t really do much without an ice rink.” Chinami smiles, fidgeting with her poncho.

After discussing the topic further, the remaining students agree to split the class into three groups; the performers, the ones who will help backstage and the audience. Kenji, Arisa, Hachiro and, surprisingly, Ryoko agreed to show their classmates some of their abilities and set up an act. Lead by Hikaru, he along with Kaori, Minoru and Juro would serve as the team setting up acts and managing some things backstage. That leaves Daichi, Youta, Eri, Mai, Chinami and Jihun as the audience.

“Okay, so we’ve got this sorted out.” Hikaru grins, standing up “Let’s go!”

Juro smiles, resting his chin on his hand. This might just be the distraction that everyone needs, not just from their current motive, but also from the horrors they had been forced to witness a few days ago.

~*~

“So what’s your plan?” Juro asks, looking at Hachiro with a smile.

“Oh, nothing really big. I don’t know if anyone here is scared of clowns, so I won’t take it too far…” Hachiro mutters.

Juro shifts the box in his arms, him and Hachiro are currently moving a few things to the main building “I think your puns are hilarious, so I wouldn’t be too worried about it.”

“I’ll try…” Hachiro looks down at the ground, tightening his grip on the smaller box he’s carrying, but a smile tugs at his lips.

They don’t talk much the rest of the way, which is rather short. Juro wishes the clown luck before he heads upstairs, finding a few people gathered there. He lifts the box up and places it on the stage.

“Here were the extra cables.” He says, climbing up the stage himself.

Hikaru gives him a thumbs up, grinning “Thanks. The ones we already had were too short.”

Juro nods “Yeah, I know. What else do we need to do?”

“Not much. Zayasu-san has wrapped up the final work that had to be done for setting up the music, it just needs to be plugged in. The same goes for the lights Asada-kun and I worked on.” Hikaru shrugs “Remember, when Yukimura-kun finishes his act, we have to set up targets for Kasai-san.”

“I know.” Juro says with a nod.

He doesn’t add that he fears that if they do forget, Arisa would use them as living targets. That’s something he would rather not find out.

“Alright!” Hikaru grins and pats Juro’s back, a little too hard “Let’s make sure this show turns out great!”

Juro stiffles a cough, forcing a smile “Right.”

~*~

“Ladies and gentleman, welcome to tonight’s show.”

Hachiro’s voice echoes through the room from the speakers that have been placed strategically by the other students. Juro smiles to himself as he watches from between the curtains. It’s almost strange, to see the clown carry himself with such confidence, but it seems the performance brings out the best in him.

“So, I have a joke to tell… two guys walked into a bar…” Hachiro pauses as he walks back and forth on stage “The third one ducked.”

Juro blinks as he tries to process the joke, before he gives a chuckle.

He walks back a little to lean against the wall, next to where Ryoko is sitting criss cross on the ground, pale hands quickly shuffling through the black and blue playing cards. She glances at him from the corners of her eyes, but other than that doesn’t seem to aknowledge his presence. Juro sighs, folding his hands behind him for a moment as he furrows his brows. He knows he should discuss what she went through the day prior, but he can’t think of a good way to convince the reserved cardist to open up.

Taking a breath, Juro sat down next to her. If he is going to attempt talking, being on eye level would be more practical. He taps Ryoko’s shoulder and she glances at him from the corners of her eyes.

Juro swallows the lump in his throat *How are you feeling?*

Ryoko raises an eyebrow, then glances behind her where Kaori is speaking to Hikaru. Her gaze returns to Juro and she signs *I’m fine.* Both her face and hands were devoid of emotion, carefully kept blank.

Knowing that Ryoko likely won’t back down, Juro nods. He heaves a sigh before asking *Would you like me to translate Ebisu-kun’s jokes?*

*No thanks, I’m not into puns.* Ryoko huffs as she signs.

Deciding to push his luck a little, Juro tries to keep the conversation going. Maybe he can get Ryoko to open up bit by bit *How come?*

There’s a moment of hesitation, but eventually she signs *One of my older brothers terrorizes me with them.* She rolls her eyes.

Juro chuckles at the expression *I can confirm that I’m also guilty of teasing my younger siblings too.*

Ryoko shrugs *I doubt dealing with you is as bad as putting up with three brothers who love pestering their one sister.*

Before Juro can ask anything else about her family, he notices Kenji approaching them. The classical guitarist smiles at Juro and gives him a wave, before tapping on Ryoko’s shoulder.

“Yuuma-san, you’re up in a moment.” Kenji says with a smile.

Ryoko nods, gathering her cards and standing up before dusting off her skirt a little and smoothing out the fabric.

“Now, a final question, why don’t cannibals eat clowns? Because they taste funny.” Hachiro grins, taking a bow when the people in the audience start clapping, Juro joins in as well “Thank you…”

Hachiro quickly walks off the stage, and once hidden by the curtains, he quickly pulls his hood over his head.

“You were amazing, Ebisu-kun.” Juro smiles, patting the clown’s shoulder.

Hachiro smiles back, a shade of pink dusting his cheeks, and mutters “Thanks…”

Then he walks away, Juro assumes to join the others in the audience. The sketch artist smiles and looks at the stage, where Ryoko has started her cardistry, creating intricate figures with a simple stack of playing cards and occasionally flipping them through the air before she catches them again.

“You know, I’m glad you two seem to be getting along.” Kenji says.

Juro looks to the side, finding the classical guitarist looking ahead with his arms crossed and his face relaxed “Really?”

Kenji nods “I was worried at first that Yuuma-san could be socially isolated from the group because of issues with communication, but she seems to get on well with you and Zayasu-san.”

“I guess…” Juro shrugs “She’s not very open though, so I’m not really sure if she actually likes being around me.”

Kenji smiles and pats the sketch artist’s shoulder “Keep trying. Yuuma-san is part of our class, just like the other students. We want her to feel like she belongs with us, no?”

Juro smiles lightly, glancing downwards “You’re right, Yukimura-kun. I’ll do my best.”

“Good.” Kenji nods and steps back “I’ll go collect my guitar. I’m almost up.”

“Good luck.”

“Thank you.’ Kenji smiles a little and walks off for a little while, before he returns with a guitar. Right on time, because Ryoko quickly walks off the stage without sparing anyone a glance on her way. Kenji exchanges one more smile with Juro before he walks up to the stage.

Juro smiles as gentle tunes start playing, before he steps away to join Hikaru backstage, who passes him a few targets to set up when it’s over. Minoru happily greets the sketch artist while Kaori gives a casual wave, resting her chin on a target.

That’s when they hear a loud crash.

Clouds of dust roll into the small space. Juro covers his mouth in a coughing fit, squinting his eyes. What he hears next makes his heart drop.

Bing bong, dong ding!

“A body has been discovered! Please assemble at the stage.”


	13. Chapter 2 - Deadly Life

Juro can barely hear, his heart beating loudly in his ears is drowning out all other sounds. They were on the right track. They were doing so well protecting themselves from the motive. How could this have happened?

It shouldn’t have happened.

Targets long forgotten, Juro helps Hikaru push aside some of the rubble. The sketch artist already had his suspicions what the scene would be, but nothing can lessen the shock when he actually sees it with his own eyes.

Some of the wooden planks the stage was made of have snapped from impact, with multiple chords having gotten tangled up and other equipment having toppled over. Kenji lies among the rubble, his torso bloody and trapped underneath a large wooden beam, with Chinami kneeling in front of him with tears running down her face. Daichi drops some of the rubble he had been pushing aside, staring wide-eyes at the scene before closes them and he shakes his head.

“Here I was wondering how long it would take someone to snap.” Monokuma covers his mouth with his paws “Upupupu, until now it seems!”

“Juro hyung!” Jihun runs up to the sketch artist with tears in his eyes and starts tugging on his sleeve “Kenji hyung is just asleep, right? Right?”

Gritting his teeth, Juro just stares at the floor. He can’t lie to Jihun, not about this.

“Yukimura-kun is… dead.” Kaori mutters, walking up next to him, her arms crossed and her eyes focused on her feet.

“No… no! Kaori noona is lying! Right, Juro hyung?”

Juro hesitates but slowly shakes his head “No… Zayasu-san is telling the truth…”

“No…” Jihun looks up at Juro with wide eyes, his lower lip starts trembling and he bursts into tears, sobs wrecking his body as he clings to Juro.

Arisa almost forcefully shoves Kaori aside as she walks by, kneeling down in front of the body. Her eyes are wide with shock and she opens her mouth as if she wants to say something, before closing it again.

Then her voice echoes through the room “Yukimura, you _idiot_!”

Multiple people flinch at her scream as the knife thrower harshly punches the beam that has trapped Kenji’s body in place.

“Ah yes, the sweet despair of losing someone you cared about.” Monokuma muses before he bursts out into laughter “Perfect! Keep it coming.”

As if a switch is flipped in Arisa’s brain, she stands up and points a knife at Monokuma “One more sound from you and I’ll put a piece of metal through your head, just as what I’ll do once I figure out which bastard did this. I’ll kill them myself if I have to. Heck, they’d be _lucky_ to land in your paws instead of my hands for their execution.”

“Kasai-san…” Chinami says softly, tugging on Arisa’s hand “D-don’t… Yukimura-kun wouldn’t have wanted th-this.”

Arisa grits her teeth, but after a moment of hesitation she lowers her knife again.

“Now that that’s out of the way…” Monokuma says in an annoyingly chipper voice “I have a little something for you!”

“The Monokuma file, right?” Eri asks, crossing her arms as she stares the bear down.

“Dingdingding! You got that right!” Monokuma says “It’s been added to your Monopads, so make sure to read it carefully, or I might have to execute everyone after the trial!”

And with that he vanishes.

Juro looks around the room for a moment, taking in everything before he unlocks his Monopad and clicks on the tab with the Monokuma file _‘Looks like we’ll have to go through this again…’_

Again, information is given on Kenji, with a picture of him that has been marked with 'dead' added. When he swipes right, the device shows a picture of Kenji, with most of his torso being coloured pink, as well as parts of his legs and arms.

_The victim is Yukimura Kenji, the Ultimate Classical Guitarist._

_The body was discovered on the stage, which is in the main cabin._

_The estimated time of death is around 7:30 pm._

_Mainly the torso of the victim’s body was crushed by the weight of the wooden beam, resulting in fatal damage to the organs and internal bleeding. There are multiple broken bones in the victim’s body as well, of which fragments penetrated most of the vital organs._

_Other than that, fragments of wood penetrate the skin in a few locations._

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Monokuma file: A detailed autopsy report on Kenji’s death.**

Juro frowns at the file he’s looking at. Out of all the people who could have been targeted by the killer, why did it have to be Kenji?

 _‘How did Monokuma even gather this much info in a few minutes?’_ Juro wonders, but then decided that now is not the time to question these things. It won’t matter for the trial.

There’s a tug on his sleeve, and Jihun speaks with a shaky voice “Juro hyung… can I stay with you? I’m scared…”

Juro looks down at the maknae, then gives him a gentle smile and a nod “Of course. I’ll have to investigate though, are you okay with that?” When Jihun nods, Juro places a hand on the boy's head “Good.”

He looks around the room, noticing that everyone is already off to do their own tasks. He should probably talk to the people in the audience to ask what happened, since he didn’t see it. Chinami still seems upset, while Daichi is by her side to comfort her a little. Youta is still staring at the body, wide-eyed and in shock, so he should probably talk to either Mai or Eri.

The sketch artist decided to approach Mai “Nakahara-san, do you think you could help me out?”

The archer hums, raising an eyebrow “Depends. What is it?”

“Do you…” Juro swallows the lump in his throat “Do you remember what happened with the crash and rubble falling and all?”

“Let’s see…” Mai sighs, rubbing the back of her neck “Not gonna lie, I was bored out of my mind, so especially with Yukimura’s music, I kinda started nodding off.” She crosses her arms “Then I was startled back awake by the crash and saw him under the beam, blood coming from, well, everywhere. Shikata,” She nods in Chinami’s direction “was the first to run up to him. Then he died.”

“How long did it take until…” Juro looks away “Yukimura-kun died?”

Mai exhales “I suck at keeping track of time. Maybe a minute or two at most?”

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Mai’s account: Mai claims that she was nodding off when she heard the crash of the stage collapsing and saw Kenji under the beam, bleeding. It couldn’t have taken much longer than two minutes.**

Juro nods “Thank you, Nakahara-san.”

Mai gives a wave of her hand “No need to thank me. Just go chat with the others.” She gave a tired smile “Get us through that trial again, ‘kay?”

“I will.” Juro promises, before walking off again.

Maybe he should talk to Eri next to have her add to Mai's account.

“What was Mai noona talking about with the trial?” Jihun asks. He has stopped crying now, but his eyes are still red.

“We’re… gonna talk about what happened to Yukimura-kun and solve everything…” Juro tries to force a comforting smile. He quickly walks over to Eri before the maknae can ask more questions “Hanai-san, can I ask you something?”

The doll maker looks away from Minoru, who she had been talking to “Sure. Can you tell this idiot I’m fine then?” She jerks a thumb at the ghost hunter.

Juro blinks “Uh, judging from your behaviour you seem okay…?”

She definitely acted very different compared to the ways she reacted to the first murder and execution.

“See?” Eri looks at Minoru, who holds up his hands in defence, before looking back at Juro “So what do you wanna know?”

Juro gives her a quick rundown of the information Mai gave him a moment ago, before asking “I was wondering if you could add to that with what happened before… before all that?”

Eri crosses her arms, humming “I can, but it’s not much. That account is true, it lines up with what I remember.” She brings a hand to her chin “Let’s see. Yukimura-kun was just playing guitar when he suddenly seemed to notice something. So he looked up and tried to get away when the whole piece of stage came down.” She shrugs “So his torso got crushed instead of his head. _Yay_ , improvement.” She deadpans near the end.

“So you didn’t notice anything strange before Yukimura-kun did?”

“Nope.” Eri shakes her head “This is all I have for you. Maybe you can bug someone else for more information.”

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Eri’s account: Eri claims that Kenji looked up and tried to get away right before the stage collapsed. She didn’t notice anything off herself.**

“This is so weird…” Minoru sighs, rubbing his forehead. He looks at Jihun “You doing okay, little Jihun?”

The maknae nods “Juro hyung is looking after me, so I feel very safe.” He smiles, which Minoru returns.

“That’s good to hear.” The ghost hunter looks up at Juro “I don’t have much to add, since you know what I was up to, but I’ll let you know if we notice anything off.”

Juro nods “Thank you.”

He shifts his gaze to the stage where Kenji’s body is still trapped under rubble, the chair he had been sitting on partly crushed as well. Kaori is investigating the body with some assistance from Ryoko it seems, so he figures he should talk to them.

“I’m gonna talk to Zayasu-san, so if you want, you can stay with Asada-kun and Hanai-san…” Juro looks down at Jihun.

“I’ll go look for Hikaru hyung!” Jihun immediately claims, running over to where the tattoo artist appears to be looking at the construction of the stage.

Juro sighs in relief. He can pick up Jihun again when he talks to Hikaru to see if he has any new information. For now he should talk to Kaori, so that’s what he does “Zayasu-san, do you have a minute?”

Kaori looks up at him “Ah, Sasaki-kun, you’ve come for my autopsy, right, right?”

Juro nods “Yeah. Would you mind telling me?”

Kaori gestures for him to come closer to the body and after a moment of hesitation, he does. This one is much worse than Mana’s. While she hadn’t been in good shape either, one could still fool themselves into thinking she was just unconscious. With all the blood the surrounds Kenji’s body, and the way his torso has been crushed from the heavy impact, that’s not possible.

“The Monokuma file described a lot of things already, so I mostly just confirmed them.” Kaori gestures at Kenji’s back “I could feel that some of his ribs were broken, and he also coughed up blood before he died, so at least the bone fragments would’ve pierced his lungs. I think they might’ve pierced his heart too. So I think the exact cause of death is penetration of the heart and lungs by bone fragments.”

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Kaori’s autopsy: Kaori confirmed the information given in the Monokuma file. She claims the cause of death was likely penetration of the lungs and heart by bone fragments from broken ribs. This is confirmed by the fact he coughed up blood.**

Juro nods, looking at the floor so he doesn’t have to face the body “Thanks, Zayasu-san.”

“No problem, no problem.” Kaori sighs “I don’t have much else to give you, since I was backstage with you, Akiyama-kun and Asada-kun and didn’t see much.”

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Kaori’s account: Kaori claimed to have been backstage with Hikaru, Minoru and Juro around the time of death.**

The sketch artist gets up, looking at the crime scene for a little longer. The beam that crushed Kenji appears to be thick and heavy, as expected. Otherwise it couldn’t have killed the classical guitarist. Even the stage itself seems to have a few splintered planks from the force.

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Wooden beam: A thick and heavy-looking beam traps Kenji’s body in place.**

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Destroyed stage: A few of the planks the stage is made of have been splintered and broken, especially around Kenji’s body.**

“It was one heavy beam, huh?” Kaori sighs, standing up herself “It even wrecked the chair he was sitting on.”

Juro looks at the mentioned object, noticing two off the chair’s legs have been broken off.

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Kenji’s chair: The chair Kenji had been sitting on throughout his performance has been damaged greatly, with two legs broken off as well as further damage having been done to the wood.**

Nothing had been safe. Juro presses his lips together when he notices Kenji’s guitar is crushed and shattered under his body. It must have been very important to the classical guitarist, but nothing was left of the instrument except fragments, some of which pierced Kenji’s skin too.

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Kenji’s guitar: The acoustic guitar that was used by Kenji for his performance was broken into pieces from the force. A few of the fragments of wood penetrate the skin of his torso.**

“I’ll be on my way then.” Juro smiles a little, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes “I still have a lot of investigating to do.”

Kaori nods “Good luck!”

“You too.” Juro smiles once more and then walks away. On his way he passes Ryoko and while they make eye contact, neither of them signs anything. Juro just gives her a smile and nod before he walks over to where Hikaru and Jihun are.

“Juro hyung! You’re back!” Jihun greets him with a bright smile, throwing his arms in the air.

“Yeah.” Juro nods “I finished talking to Zayasu-san.”

“Well, I guess I can show you this too then.” Hikaru says, he turns to the wooden beam on the side that had been holding up the one that collapsed on Kenji “I found this.” He pats the part where it has been snapped in two “There are multiple places like this. The break is too clean, only thin edges are uneven.”

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Broken beams: Many of the breaks in the wooden beams that supported the stage are very clean, with only uneven splinters at the edge.**

“So you think… someone sabotaged the stage?” Juro asks, muttering mostly to himself.

Hikaru nods “Yeah. The breaks are just too clean to be natural.” He turns back to Juro “I don’t have much else though. So we should consider more options until we find more evidence.”

Juro nods “I will, thank you.”

“Sasaki. Akiyama.”

Upon hearing his surname, Juro turns his head to see Arisa approach him with Chinami following her.

“I found something you might want to see. Come along.” The knife thrower says, then turns on her heel.

Juro exchanges a look with Hikaru, but when Jihun happily follows Arisa, they tag along as well. As Arisa leads them backstage, Chinami fills them in a little.

“Kasai-san and I went b-backstage to see if we could maybe find c-clues there.” Chinami explains, looking at her feet while she fidgets with her poncho “I was still pretty upset so K-Kasai-san suggested looking there since most p-people would focus on the stage anyways.”

Looking at the figure skater, Juro nods “Well, it proved useful, right?” He gives her a comforting smile.

Smiling a little, even though her eyes still look sad, Chinami glances up at Juro “I guess so…”

“Over here.” Arisa picks up one of the ladders and points at the rungs, where some dirt and dried mud is caked onto many of the rungs “Unless one of you people who set up the stage doesn’t know how to wipe their feet, this has to belong to our culprit.”

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Ladder: The ladder backstage has mud and dirt on most of the rungs. It appears to be completely dry.**

“This has so many implications, but we can think about those during the trial.” Hikaru sighs and rubs the side of his head, before smiling “Thank you for showing us.”

“I figured I should so people wouldn’t get on my back about lying about stuff, and you guys happened to be nearby.” Arisa shrugs.

“Thank you, Arisa!” Jihun smiles brightly.

The knife thrower grits her teeth and looks away while crossing her arms “Don’t mention it. We should continue investigating.”

“Right…” Juro mutters, he looks at Chinami “Shikata-san, do you… have a moment?”

“S-sure. What is it?” Chinami asks, tugging on her poncho a little.

“I was wondering if you’d… be okay with giving me your account…” Juro says before quickly adding “J-just the last part! I already talked to Nakahara-san and Hanai-san.”

He doesn’t want to figure skater to dig up any more memories of the event than necessary.

“Of when Yukimura-kun d-died, you mean?” Chinami waits for Juro to give a hesitant nod, then shifts her gaze to the ground and rubs her upper arm “Yeah… okay… I’ll need to t-talk about it anyways.” She stares at the wall and takes a breath “After the… c-collapse, I was quick to run over to Yukimura-kun… I knew it was t-too late, so I j-just wanted to comfort him a little b-before…” She doesn’t finish the sentence, clutching the fabric of her poncho so tightly her knuckles turn white. Tears gather in her eyes “It looked so p-painful. I held his hand and said I’d miss him…” A tear now rolls down her cheek and her voice grows unsteady “Then he was just… g-gone…”

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Chinami’s account: Chinami claimed that after the stage collapsed she rushed over to Kenji and held his hand until he passed away from his injuries.**

“I’m… really sorry, Shikata-san.” Juro mumbles, glancing down a little to avoid making eye contact.

“It’s okay…” Chinami tries her best to smile, wiping some of her tears away “I’m g-gonna have to talk about all this anyways during the t-trial.”

“Alright, we’re gonna keep investigating before Sasaki has any more bright ideas.” Arisa huffs, placing a hand on Chinami’s shoulder and guiding her further backstage to look around. Looking over her shoulder, she glares daggers at Juro.

After a moment of awkward silence, Hikaru pats Juro’s shoulder “Well, if anything happens to you, at least we’ll know who did it.”

“Not very reassuring, Akiyama-kun.” Juro sighs, but he can’t help but smile a little.

“But Arisa cares a lot about Chinami noona, right?” Jihun smiles brightly.

“That’s… a better way to look at it.” Juro hums “Let’s take your approach, Jihun.”

“Yay! I helped!”

“I’ll go take a closer look at the beams again. I’ll see you guys around.” Hikaru smiles, giving them a wave before he walks off.

Juro waves back, a little less enthusiastic than Jihun’s hyper wave, then looks around the space backstage one more time.

He spots a broom in the corner. It doesn’t seem to special, but upon closer inspection there seems to be saw dust on it. There’s also saw dust in the trash bin nearby.

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Broom: A broom that is normally backstage. There is still what appears to be saw dust on it.**

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Saw dust: What appears to be saw dust can be found in the trash bin backstage.**

The dust from the collapsing of the stage is still there, a fine coat of it on nearby objects, but other than that and the evidence they just discovered, there’s not much that seems worth investigating.

“Sasaki-kun. Jihun.”

Juro is about to question how many times people are going to ask them to see something, but then notices the saw that Daichi is holding in his hand.

“I found this in the warehouse.” The school idol explains, brushing his fingertips against the side of the saw before showing his fingers to Juro and Jihun “There’s still saw dust on it.”

**Truth bullet obtained!  
Saw: A saw that Daichi claims to have found in the warehouse. There is still saw dust on it.**

“Thank you for showing us, Daichi.” Juro says and the school idol smiles and nods in response.

“I didn’t expect anyone else to think of it, so I decided to explore the warehouse.” Daichi hums, smile still on his face “It seems it paid off.”

“Yeah, I guess so…” Juro gives a slightly strained smile in response.

“You’re so smart, Daichi hyung!” Jihun beams.

However, before the school idol can respond, they hear a painfully familiar sound.

“Investigation time is over! It’s time for the long-awaited Class Trial! Please go to the fountain in the central garden of the dorms!”

Daichi and Juro exchange a look, and the sketch artist sighs “It looks like we have to go already.”

Daichi smiles a little, it's a bit forced, looking at the monitor that broadcasted the announcement earlier “It seems so.”

It’s silent, other than the shuffling of feet as the student descent down the stairs and make their way down the stairs. Juro anxiously bites the inside of his cheek as they arrive at the fountain. They watch the construction slowly sinking into the ground, before an elevator rises in its place.

On the way down, Juro can’t help but fidget with his fingers.

They have to play it again, the game of trust and betrayel, of truth and lies.

Another one of them will die today.


	14. Chapter 2 - Class Trial

CLASS TRIAL

ALL RISE!

“Let’s go over the rules of the class trial!”

Two new portraits have been added to the scene this time. Besides Mana’s portrait, monochrome framed pictures of Kaya and Kenji stand on the podiums they occupied during the first trial. Both of their faces are marked with a pink X as well.

“With the evidence, you’ll have to figure out who murdered Yukimura Kenji! The end result will be determined by a vote. If more than half of you votes for the blackened, only they will receive punishment.” Monokuma snickers, a truly sinister smile on his face “However, if you point at the wrong person, I will punish all the innocent students, and the culprit will be free to leave the school trip! Good luck!”

As Juro glances at the screen on his podium during Monokuma’s explanation, he heard it before after all, he notices an alteration has been made. Instead of having a black screen staring back at him, the words Monokuma spoke have appeared, with a tag marking that he was the one who said them.

“Before we start,” Juro quickly says as his head shoots up, receiving a few curious glances. He looks over at Ryoko and signs while speaking “Yuuma-san, since the conversation appears on the screens now,” He glances down and notices that his words do indeed appear as soon as he says them, “do you still want me and Zayasu-san to translate things to sign language?”

“Oh, good point, good point.” Kaori agrees, signing as well as she talks “Let’s clear that up before we discuss this case.”

Ryoko seems to consider it for a moment, her brow furrowing slightly, before she signs a response *Just sign while you two are talking yourselves. Other than that, focus on the trial. I’m still not in the mood to die today.*

Juro nods while Kaori gives a translation for the others. Once that’s done, he takes a breath “Okay, we can start now.”

“Let’s get on this then.” Arisa hisses through gritted teeth.

“Do we want to start with the cause of death again?” Hikaru asks, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Fine by me. Let’s not waste any more time.” Eri agrees.

**Truth bullet used:**

**Kaori’s autopsy: Kaori confirmed the information given in the Monokuma file. She claims the cause of death was likely penetration of the lungs and heart by bone fragments from broken ribs. This is confirmed by the coughed up blood.**

“We know Yukimura died during his performance.” Mai begins.

“That’s common knowledge. We all saw that or at least the dust of the crush.” Arisa glares while keeping her arms crossed.

“Yukimura-kun… He w-was playing guitar when he died.” Chinami fidgets with her fingers without meeting anyone’s gaze.

“That was when the beam hit him… right?” Youta asks.

Hachiro nods “Yes…”

“Then it’s clear that the beam killed him.” Minoru clenches a fist over his chest “Maybe it squeezed the air out of his lungs and made him unable to breathe. Another case of suffocation?!”

“Actually, that’s wrong.” Juro points out “You’re close, Asada-kun. But according to Zayasu-san, Yukimura-kun probably died when bone fragments penetrated his lungs and heart when his bones broke from the force of the beam.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Kaori nods “That’s true. He also coughed up blood, which implies that there was bleeding in the lungs, which can easily be from a penetration.”

“The Monokuma file said the same thing to, although with less details since not all of us need help with piecing these things together.” Daichi smiles.

“So we’ve got it straight how he died.” Ryoko adds, using her Monopad to communicate again “Let’s move on.”

“Alibis. What was everyone doing?” Minoru suggests.

“We were all at our designated spots. I was in the audience with Takita, Fukui, Nakahara, Shikata and Jihun.” Eri sighs, her arms crossed “But I don’t think this will help the case, Minoru.”

“Why not, Eri noona?” Jihun asks, tilting his head while holding his hands in front of his mouth.

“I think I know why…” Juro mutters _‘Why alibis won’t matter…’_

**A. Not enough people were present.**

**B. Nobody has an alibi.**

**C. The murder was set up beforehand.**

“It’s because I think the murder was set up before the performances started.” Juro reasons “Isn’t that right, Hanai-san?”

Eri nods “That’s it.”

“Hold up, let’s talk about this a bit more before we completely disregard alibis.” Youta suggests “We should be sure of this, just in case alibis are important.”

Hikaru nods “Fair point, let’s talk.”

**Truth bullet used:**

**Ladder: The ladder backstage has mud and dirt on most of the rungs. It appears to be completely dry.**

“If the murder was set up beforehand, Hanai is right that our alibis won’t matter.” Arisa sighs, rubbing her forehead.

“Don’t they really?” Mai asks.

“What are you getting at, Nakahara?” Ryoko asks.

“Well, Hanai may have a point, but if this was set up…” Mai sighs, touching her chin “Wouldn’t that make the ones who helped backstage the most suspicious?”

“How would it…?” Youta asks.

“I meant that they would be up and working on the stage, so it wouldn’t be as noticable if they sabotaged stuff.” Mai shrugs “I dunno, just throwing it out there.”

“Do we have anything to confirm that was when the stage was sabotaged though…?” Hachiro asks.

“But when else could it have happened?” Daichi places an index finger against his chin “Only when the stage was being set up could the culprit have set up the trap.”

“No, Takita-kun, that’s wrong.” Juro says “We actually have evidence that suggests it might’ve been longer ago. Kasai-san and Shikata-san found a ladder backstage with dried mud on it. It was completely dry, so it was probably used before we set up the stage. And I don’t think we used a ladder while setting things up either.”

“We didn’t.” Hikaru confirms “Zayasu-san and I were tall enough to reach what we needed or we could climb on a chair.”

“True, true.” Kaori nods “I can confirm that.”

“Then unless s-someone else used the ladder, the m-mud is from the culprit, right?” Chinami holds her hands close to her chest as she looks around.

“So if someone used to ladder, speak up now or face my wrath.” Arisa holds up a knife and glares at everyone.

“It seems no one did…” Hachiro mutters after a beat of silence.

“So Yukimura-kun was just holding his performance when he was suddenly crushed?” Minoru questions “That’s all we have.”

“Hold up, hold up, wouldn’t he have noticed anything?” Kaori asks, holding up one hand.

“What do you mean, Kaori noona?” Jihun asks.

“A heavy beam falling down isn’t very quiet.” Hikaru realizes, his eyes lighting up a little as it dawns on him.

“Really? I mean, I was about to take a nap so I wouldn’t know.” Mai shrugs.

“Do we have evidence to support this?” Youta asks.

 _‘Do I have anything that could prove Zayasu’s theory…’_ Juro brings a hand to his chin as he thinks _‘Actually, I think I do.’_

**1\. Monokuma file**

**2\. Mai’s account**

**3\. Eri’s account**

**4\. Kaori’s autopsy**

**5\. Kaori’s account**

**6\. Wooden beam**

**7\. Destroyed stage**

**8\. Kenji’s chair**

**9\. Kenji’s guitar**

**10\. Broken beams**

**11\. Ladder**

**12\. Chinami’s account**

**13\. Broom**

**14\. Saw dust**

**15\. Saw**

“Hanai-san told me something earlier when I was investigating.” Juro says “According to her, Yukimura-kun looked up just before everything came down.”

Eri nods “He tried to get away, I think, but he was too late. That's what it looked like at least.”

“How did none of us notice anything…?” Hikaru wonders aloud, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Well, for starters, I’m deaf, so I wouldn’t have picked up on anything during or after my performance.” Ryoko says before shrugging “How you guys didn’t notice? No idea.”

 _‘Why didn’t we notice any creaking or other sounds?’_ Juro wonders.

**A. Everyone was too far from the scene.**

**B. There was background noise.**

**C. Both.**

“There were two reasons that played into this, I think.” Juro explains, holding a hand to his chin “We were pretty far away from the situation compared to Yukimura-kun, and the sound from his performance probably drowned out the creaking.”

“Oh, good point. Background noise and distance can easily make something hard to hear.” Kaori adds.

“There was a microphone set up next to Yukimura-kun’s guitar too, to amplify the sound for us.” Daichi says with a nod.

“But he himself was p-pretty far away from the speakers compared t-to us.” Chinami finishes the train of thought, eyes slightly wide with realization “So he would’ve b-been able to hear it.”

“Alright, that’s one more mystery unraveled!” Minoru grins with confidence, clenching a fist in front of his chest.

“Let’s go!” Jihun cheers as well.

“Hold up, I have one more question about Hanai’s account.” Arisa says “You said Yukimura seemed to try getting away, why didn’t he succeed?”

“Let’s talk this over.” Youta suggests.

**Truth bullet used:**

**Kenji’s chair: The chair Kenji had been sitting on throughout his performance is greatly damage, with two legs broken off as well as other damages to the wood.**

“Maybe… the culprit rigged the floor or the chair in some way, so he couldn’t get away?” Hikaru proposes.

“Wouldn’t Yuuma-san or I have noticed if that were the case though…?” Hachiro asks, rubbing his arm while looking to the side to avoid eye contact.

“Only for the floor.” Mai points out “But that would be easier to rig than a chair.”

“The chair is wrecked beyond repair, so we couldn’t tell if it were rigged anyways.” Ryoko sighs.

“Aren’t you guys thinking too much about this? Never thought I’d say that.” Eri pinches the bridge of her nose “Maybe this whole issue is just as simple as Yukimura not being fast enough to get up and run.”

“I agree with that.” Juro smiles and Eri raises an eyebrow “Yukimura-kun was sitting on a chair while playing guitar. By the time the creaking was loud enough for him to notice, it was likely just too late.”

“Let’s not forget he was carrying an instrument too.” Youta adds.

Daichi nods, humming “Indeed. It would be much harder to get up and get away while carrying his guitar.”

“Is there anything else we can discuss now?” Kaori asks.

“Before we continue, I have a question for Monokuma.” Ryoko suddenly says, or at least the voice speaking for her does.

“Hm? What is it?” Monokuma tilts his head, holding his paw in front of his mouth.

“If the one who triggered the trap and the one who set it up are different people, then who would be the blackened?” The cardist looks at their headmaster with a blank expression.

 _‘That’s a good point, actually.’_ Juro realizes.

“Most of the time, I’d consider the one who triggered it the culprit, unless no one in particular triggered the trap.” Monokuma explains.

Ryoko nods, turning her attention back to the trial, or rather the screen she uses to participate.

“We’re stuck then…?” Youta mutters after a moment of silence.

“There’s… something I’d like to discuss.” Hikaru speaks up, clenching his fists by his side and keeping his chin up “I didn’t want to bring it up earlier because, well, I don’t want to believe this person is the one who killed Yukimura-kun, but I can’t risk your lives because I don’t want to face the truth either.”

Eri looks at Minoru for a moment, the two seem to exchange a look, before she looks back at Hikaru “Spit it out already.”

“Right.” Hikaru pulls something out of his pocket “I found this during my investigation. It was stuck in one of the grooves of the beam that had been tampered with, maybe a metre above the ground at most. Estimating that isn't exactly my strong suit.”

He holds out a slightly crumbled up piece of paper with lines of graphite on it that Juro can’t quite make out from this distance, but still recognizes from a distance. His heart sinks a little.

Hikaru looks Juro in the eye now “Sasaki-kun, this is your work, isn’t it?”

Feeling the eyes of his classmates land on him, Juro swallowed the lump in his throat and gave a hesitant nod “It… it is.”

Arisa is the first to speak up “So we found our culprit.”

“Sasaki-kun… was it r-really you?” Chinami’s voice cracks a little near the end as she looks up at him, eyes glinstering with tears.

Juro almost feel the ground vanishing from underneath his feet as he stumbles forward a little and grips the edge of his podium tightly. He doesn’t hear any more of the accusations, the sounds of his heartbeat and the blood rushing through his veins drowning out all other noise. This is bad. He has to convince them somehow that he’s innocent. But he can’t. There’s no evidence. He can’t prove anything. He can’t-

Ryoko.

She knows that his sketchbook was left unguarded last night. She can help him.

“Yuuma-san.” Juro quickly signs with shaky hand as he speaks with an equally unsteady voice. The gazes that were on him shift to the cardist “Please. You know someone had a chance to frame me, right?”

Ryoko grits her teeth, tightening her grip on her Monopad, causing her already pale fingers to turn white, causing the scars stand out more. She doesn’t type. She doesn’t sign. She just seems frozen where she stands.

“Hey, don’t drag Yuuma-chan into this mess.” Kaori hisses, glaring at Juro.

“No.” Juro snaps back, staring at Kaori with lightly narrowed eyes “She can prove my innocence. I’m not letting everyone die because of what you say.”

He hardens his resolve as he watches Kaori grit her teeth. He has to get through to Ryoko if he wants to save them.

“Yuuma-san, I really need your help.” Juro speaks while he signs. While he would rather just sign so the others can’t understand, he knows that it would only fuel their suspicion. He has to be brave now “Remember you told me to try being more confident? Well, I’m confident now, confident that you can help me, help us.” As she looks up slightly to meet his eyes, he offers her a smile “I trust you can do this.”

Ryoko presses her lips together, then she takes a breath and nods before frantically typing away on her Monopad. For a moment, that is the only sound they hear as the everyone in the room seems to hold their breath in unison. Then Ryoko hits a final button and the robotic voice speaks up once more.

“Sasaki is telling the truth.” She looks up as she lets the Monopad talk for her “Last night I saw light on the island in the lake, so I walked onto the landing to see what was going there, when I fell through the planks as they broke. Sasaki seemed to have heard, because after a bit he came rushing out and pulled me up.” Ryoko’s grip on the device has grown tighter again, but her expression remains hardened, cold “After a while, we went back inside the main building to get his drawing stuff from the stage. In that time, the culprit must’ve had enough time to steal one of Sasaki’s sketches to frame him. Furthermore, why would he bother saving me if he wanted to use the trap to kill someone?”

“I knew Juro hyung was innocent!” Jihun claps his hands together, smiling brightly.

“Good thing Yuuma-san was able to confirm what I already knew.” Daichi smiles calmly.

Hikaru nods, sighing as his shoulders lose the tension they held “I’m glad I was wrong.”

“Me too…” Chinami exhales, her body relaxing a little.

“Hold up, should we write this all off so easily?” Arisa asks.

“Right, right.” Kaori nods, crossing her arms “For all we know both traps were set up by different people.”

“That.” Mai jerks a thumb at Kaori.

“As much as I hate to suspect a friend… I think we should talk about it a little more.” Hachiro mutters.

“Agreed.” Youta nods.

“I don’t think this option has been entertained enough either.” Eri agrees.

“Actually, I think there’s plenty of evidence to prove that Juro is innocent.” Minoru sighs, he looks at Eri and smiles a little “No hard feelings?”

“No hard feelings.” She echoes, smiling faintly “We should discuss everything to find the truth.”

“Well, a discussion might be tough here since we’re split.” Daichi muses.

“Split? Did someone say split?” Monokuma suddenly pipes up.

“Oh no…” Kaori mutters, facepalming.

“Well then, the camping site is proud to present its very own morphenomenal trial grounds!” Monokuma pulls a key seemingly out of thin air and places it into a keyhole, twisting it.

As the platforms rise up again, Minoru clutches his railing tightly with a pale face “Remind me to never use the word ‘split’ during a trial ever again.”

The podiums rearrange themselves far above ground. Juro is joined by Ryoko, Jihun, Daichi, Hikaru, Chinami and Minoru, joined by Kaya’s portrait, the blue lights under their podiums illuminating them again. Across them Arisa, Kaori, Youta, Mai, Hachiro and Eri rise into the air, illuminated by red light and joined by the portraits of Mana and Kenji.

“Now, you can argue properly!” Monokuma beams with pride “Each time a person brings up an argument, someone from the other side gets to refute it. Ready?” He doesn’t wait for a response yet again “Go!”

“How can we **trust** anything Sasaki says when there’s evidence against him?” Mai asks with a sigh.

“We can **trust** Yuuma-san’s account. She doesn’t gain anything from lying.” Hikaru states.

“What if she’s just trying to **protect** Sasaki-kun?” Kaori questions.

“I’m not dumb enough to lie to **protect** someone I barely know if my own life is on the line.” Ryoko points out.

“We can’t prove that the **traps** were set up by the same person.” Youta mutters, pulling his scarf up a little further.

“Both **traps** were still _very_ similiar, sabotaging the wood that supported a structure so it would collapse.” Daichi argues.

“He could’ve tampered with the crime scene during his **investigation**.” Arisa huffs.

“I was with him during most of the **investigation**. No tampering!” Jihun smiles brightly.

“So far that paper is the only clue that points at a **culprit** …” Hachiro sighs.

“B-but that was likely planted there b-by the real **culprit**. There’s much more we can t-talk about.” Chinami suggests.

“Wasn’t he **absent** a lot last night?” Eri asks.

“Yuuma-san’s account covers that he wasn’t alone when he was **absent** for the most part, at least when it mattered.” Minoru argues.

“Unless there’s **evidence** to prove you’re innocent, you’re a suspect.” Arisa glares at Juro.

“Yuuma-san’s account is more than enough **evidence** to at least get me off the chopping block.” Juro finishes.

“This is our answer, Sasaki-kun is innocent!” Juro, Jihun, Daichi, Hikaru, Chinami and Minoru say together, while Ryoko seems to sign a similiar statement.

“The two traps are too similiar to just be a coincidence.” Juro reasons “Both were sabotaged so a structure would collapse. We know that the wooden structures here are very sturdy, so I suspect the saw was used to tamper with both.”

“That would make sense…” Hachiro mutters, rubbing his upper arm.

“If Sasaki is off the hook, then who else could it be?” Mai wonders “I mean, there’s gotta be a way we can figure stuff out.”

“Maybe there is a way. We know the culprit used a ladder to be able to reach the beam…” Juro mutters “Kasai-san, Shikata-san, I didn’t get a good look at it, but how sturdy was the ladder?”

“What are you getting at?” Arisa furrows her brows, arms still crossed “Well, most things in this place are sturdy, so that’s why I noticed the ladder didn’t seem as stable. I don’t think I’d dare climbing that thing.”

“I think I see what you’re trying to do here, Sasaki-kun.” Hikaru mutters.

Juro nods “Isn’t it reasonable to think that the culprit had to be on the shorter side and fairly light if they used a ladder that wasn’t very sturdy?”

“It’d also make some sense that us smaller people would need to set traps to kill anyone, since we kinda lack the physical strength for most methods.” Ryoko suggests.

“Hold up, aren’t you accusing yourself now?” Mai asks.

“That is a little weird to do…” Youta agrees.

“Didn’t we figure both traps were likely set up by the same person?” The robotic voice matches perfectly with Ryoko’s deadpan expression “I’m not dumb enough to walk straight into a trap I set up myself. I know some people might be but not me.”

“That’s fair…” Hachiro agrees.

“Then that would leave us with Fukui-kun, Hanai-san, Jihun and Shikata-san.” Daichi muses, counting the current suspects on his fingers “Personally, I don’t think it would’ve been Shikata-san. She was quite close to Yukimura-kun.”

“I mean, the trap could’ve been meant for someone else.” Kaori suggests.

“Zayasu.” Arisa hisses.

“What?” Kaori throws her hands in the air “I’m just throwing it out there. That trap didn’t seem to be able to target someone specific.”

“I don’t like this…” Jihun mutters, holding his hands in front of his mouth.

“Something has been bugging me since Yukimura-kun died…” Hikaru sighs and rubs the back of his neck “Hanai-san, your reaction… it was very different compared to when we found Ishikawa-san or when Uehara-san was executed.”

Eri raises an eyebrow “What? So now I’m a murderer because I didn’t cry my eyes out like other idiots? Do you really want to bet your life on that?”

“I mean, he’s right that it’s weird.” Mai agrees.

Hikaru nods “It’s definitely not something I want to base a conclusion on, but I’m wondering if there’s a reasonable explanation for it.”

“That’s none of your business.” Eri hisses.

“Give me a break!” Arisa slams her hands on the edge of her podium, leaning forward to glare at the doll maker “We’re trying to figure out which asshole killed Yukimura here, in part so we don’t all die, so you’d better contribute.”

Crossing her arms tightly and pressing her lips together into a thin line, Eri keeps her mouth shut.

However, Minoru speaks up “Eri has a good reason why she didn’t react as strongly.” He sighs “It’s not my place to share it, but just trust me that there is one.”

“I guess we’ll have to just accept we won’t get more than that.” Ryoko comments.

“I’m getting bored… so make sure you guys pick a blackened soon~.” Monokuma drags out the word a little.

“That’s no good. We need more time. If we don’t find the real culprit…” Youta doesn’t dare to finish the sentence.

 _‘I think I know who the culprit is…’_ Juro realizes, taking a breath. He doesn’t want to do it “The culprit is you… isn’t it?” He looks at his suspect, making eye contact this time around “Jihun.”

“W-what?” Jihun stutters out, tears filling his eyes and threatening to spill “Juro… hyung…?”

“What the-” Kaori stares at him with wide eyes.

Jihun shakes his head, tears threatening to spill “I… I wouldn’t… do such a mean thing.”

“Sasaki-kun… you’re kidding… right?” Hikaru mutters.

“Of course he has to be!” Kaori snaps “Sasaki-kun, do you even hear yourself? You’re accusing a literal _child_ of murder!”

“Haven’t we done that before when we accused Uehara-san?” Juro mutters “We’re all just high schoolers here. Just think about it, Zayasu-san, Jihun fits the description of our culprit perfectly.”

“So do others! Accuse the fucking anti-vaxxer or something!” Kaori gestures at Youta.

“Zayasu-san, we can’t let our bias cloud our judgement.” Juro swallows the lump in his throat “Everyone’s life is on the line here.”

“Then do you believe Jihun could set up a murder plan like this? What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Kaori spreads her arms as she leans forward “There’s absolutely no logic behind your fucked up accusation!”

idea – The performances – his – were

“Zayasu-san… **The performances were his idea** …” Juro looks up to look Kaori on the eyes “Do you remember what Akiyama-kun said? Jihun came up with the idea while discussing it with Takita-kun and Akiyama-kun… to all come together in a place... where a trap was located.”

“Then… how did he act with such innocence?” Kaori mutters, staring out the ground.

“Juro hyung…?” Jihun chokes out, tears streaming down his cheeks as he looks up at the sketch artist. He pleads between sobs “If it’s really me… please convince everyone…”

Although he hesitates for a moment, Juro nods. The least he can do is honour Jihun’s wishes now “I will…”

“Sometime after the motive was announced, the culprit of this case took a saw from the warehouse that had become accessible recently. They used it to sabotage the planks at the end of the landing above the lake. Yesterday evening, Yuuma-san spotted a light on the island in the lake, so in order to try and figure out what was going on, she walked out onto the landing, triggering the trap that had been set. I was in the main building on the first floor and heard her scream, so I ran out to help, leaving behind my drawing supplies. This was the opening the culprit used to obtain my work.  
Later that night, the culprit took the saw again and put in motion their plan to set up a new trap. They sabotaged the beams that held up the stage, using a ladder from backstage to reach the high points. The ladder wasn’t very sturdy, but that didn’t matter for our culprit because they were light enough to stand on the ladder without it breaking. After they set of their trap on the stage, the cleaned up the sawdust using a broom from backstage and discarded it in the bin. They planted my drawing to frame me and put the ladder away. Maybe at the time they didn’t realize it, but that ladder would later became a vital piece of evidence to solve this case, because of the mud they had left behind on the rungs. They returned the saw to the warehouse, neglecting to clean it, and returned to the dorms.  
In the morning, the culprit met up with Takita-kun and Akiyama-kun, where they discussed a plan to bring everyone together. The culprit suggested a performance since we had access to the stage and Takita-kun and Akiyama-kun agreed, unaware of the trap that had been set up. Takita-kun presented the idea to the rest of us and we all agreed. Some of us offered to hold a performance, including the victim of this case, Yukimura-kun.  
After setting everything up, we gathered to try taking our minds off everything, not knowing what awaited us. Ebisu-kun and Yuuma-san both performed without noticing any issues the trap was inflicting. However, while Yukimura-kun was playing guitar the sabotaged beams gave out, causing a heavy part of the stage to come down and crush him. We didn’t notice anything before the stage collapsed, because were too far away and Yukimura’s music drowned out any creaking, but the people in the audience witnessed exactly what happened, and our culprit was among them. Yukimura-kun died… right in front of our eyes.  
This is what happened during this case, right, Kim Jihun, the Ultimate Maknae?”

“I th-think so…” Jihun chokes out between sobs “Thank you… Juro hyung.”

“You think so?” Arisa asked “You _think_ so?!” She pointed a finger at Jihun “ _You_ killed Yukimura, you little bitch! He was the one person who deserved it the least!”

“I know… but…” Jihun tries to wipe some tears away, but the ones he wipes away are immediately replaced by fresh ones “I really don’t remember doing those mean things… but it explains why there was mud on my shoes when I woke up…”

“It was you then.” Ryoko confirms, keeping her expression blank, devoid of emotion.

“Jihun… you suppress bad memories, don’t you?” Daichi asks, finally shifting his gaze from the ground to their culprit “You forgot that we were in a killing game too, and that we lost friends. Do you often have gaps in your memory?”

Drawing a shaky breath, Jihun doesn’t say anything but just nods, before adding hesitantly “That’s what mom and dad… and this funny person I have to talk to all say.”

“A therapist…” Hachiro mutters, rubbing his arm and looking away. He hasn’t looked at anyone since Juro finished the argument with Kaori.

“Well, since you guys have all reached a conclusion, iiiiiiit’s voting time!” Monokuma announces.

“W-wait… we can’t just…” Chinami says.

“Don’t worry, I’ll spill all the tea and give you your sentimental moment after the voting. I have to give you a chance to fall into despair, don’t I? Upupupu.” Monokuma laughs as all the screens on the podiums come to life “You know the drill. Just select who you think is the culprit! If anyone fails to vote they’ll be punished!”

Gritting his teeth, Juro lifts a shaky hand to enter his vote. After confirming his choice, he drops his hand by his side again, just letting it go limp, and looks away. Out of all people, this person was the last one he had ever wanted to be the culprit.

Monokuma laughs “It seems the voting has finished. Let’s see the result.”

At a rumbling sound, the students look up only to see a large screen being lowered from the ceiling to hang above Monokuma’s throne. It comes to life, the word ‘RESULTS’ written in pale yellow a stark contrast again the red and black background. It shows very simplistic figures of each of the students, before thirteen red bars appear next to Jihun’s image. The sound of a bell fills the room and confetti flutters down on Jihun’s image. Then the screen goes black again.

“Who will be chosen as the blackened? Will you make the right choice or the dreadfully wrong one?!” Monokuma beams, a sinister tone to his voice when he says the last few words.

This time a wheel of fortune shows up, the outer ring showing the same pixelated characters while the inner ring is black, save for one tile of yellow. The glowing tile moves, spinning around until it lands on the tile below Jihun’s figure and flashes red.

“The culprit who killed Yukimura Kenji is Kim Jihun! Congratulations! Now, I’ll finally tell you about the motive!”

“I’m sorry… everyone…” Jihun chokes out, lowering his head.

“When our sweet innocent maknae was thirteen years old, he had a classmate named Min Jee. She really liked Jihun, because she started stalking him. She always followed him around and would send him text messages and gifts, until the case was taken to court and she was expelled from their school. Then little Jihun never heard from her again.” Monokuma mocks the last sentence “Until he came here. Min Jee had found her way to the camping site and began stalking Jihun again. I figured it’d be a fun motive to let her in!”

Jihun’s sobs pierce the stunned silence, as the maknae clutches his head and leans forward.

“That’s messed up…” Juro breathes, staring at Monokuma with wide eyes. That’s messed up on so many levels that the sketch artist hadn’t it expected even from someone as twisted as Monokuma.

“You… you bastard…” Hikaru grits his teeth and clenches a fist “How could you…?”

“Upupupu.” Monokuma covers his mouth with his paws “Yes. That’s the expression I want. The despair as you realize someone you thought would never be capable of such a thing actually committed murder.”

“Jihun…” Chinami mutters, clutching the fabric of her poncho “I f-forgive you…”

“Shikata…” Arisa mutters.

Chinami looks at Arisa and smiles a little through her tears “He was just scared, Kasai-san. B-besides…” She sighs, looking down “I don’t think Yukimura-kun would w-want us to be mad at Jihun.”

“You’re right…” Minoru mutters, tugging on his headband “But I’m still pissed at Monokuma for what he has done.”

Eri gets down from her podium to walk up to the ghost hunter, placing a hand on his back “I mean, why on earth would anyone like that guy? Monokuma’s very existence is giving me brain damage.”

Minoru lets out a weak but genuine chuckle as more people step down from their podiums.

“I’m sorry…” Jihun apologizes again “I’m sorry…”

“We’re not angry, Jihun.” Daichi kneels down a little, placing a hand on Jihun’s shoulder “We’re just… very upset to have to say goodbye. You were a light in this dark place, and I wish you could stay with us… a little longer…”

Jihun sniffles “Me too, Daichi hyung…” He reaches out to give the school idol a tight hug, then passes on to also give Hikaru one “Goodbye, Hikaru hyung.”

“Goodbye… Jihun…” Hikaru pats the boy’s back, gritting his teeth harshly as a few tears gather in the corners of his eyes.

“Please don’t cry… I don’t want you to be sad.” Jihun says. Fresh tears gather in his still red eyes.

“Right.” Hikaru forces a chuckle while he wipes his own tears away “I won’t be sad then…”

“Good.” Jihun smiles, then walks up to Juro, tugging on his sleeves a little once he stands in front of the sketch artist “Juro hyung… I’m really sorry… for trying to make everyone think you were a bad person.”

“It’s okay. Like Takita-kun said, no one is mad.” Juro forces the most comforting smile he can manage. The only one he’s furious at is Monokuma. He opens his arms “Now, don’t I get a hug too?”

Tears well up in his eyes as Jihun almost tackles Juro with his hug. The sketch artist barely manages to maintain his balance, but he remains standing as he gently pats Jihun’s back while the maknae cries his heart out. More apologies are uttered, and Juro attempts to soothe the guilt and fears.

Once Jihun manages to calm down a little, with an occasional sob shaking his frame, he looks up at Juro with teary red eyes “Does dying hurt…?” His voice trembles, the pitch becoming a little higher near the end of the question.

Juro sighs, biting his lip before he hesitantly admits “A little… but then the pain stops and you’ll go to a happy place... where you won’t feel pain again.”

That’s all he can hope for, that Jihun will at least be granted peace in what comes next, after the horrible execution Monokuma will put him through.

Jihun nods, burying his face against Juro’s chest “I’m scared…”

“I know…” Juro mutters, forcing himself to hold back the tears that sting his eyes “That’s okay, Jihun. I’m scared too, but you’re gonna be fine…” At least he hoped so.

“All this sentimental stuff is making me sick. I’m tired of waiting!” Monokuma throws a bag of popcorn, which he got out of nowhere, in a random direction “Let’s give this everything we’ve got. It’s punishment time!”

He pulls out a red mallet, raising it above his head to hit the red button that appeared in front of his throne.

**GAME OVER**

**JIHUN HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY.**

**TIME FOR PUNISHMENT!**

_A shackle appears and clasps tightly around Jihun’s neck, tearing him away from Juro’s hold. Jihun goes limp and bites his lip to suppress the tears. He stares wide-eyed in horror as he’s dragged away from his classmates._

The Chase

Ultimate Maknae

Kim Jihun’s execution: Executed

_Jihun is released in a dark forest with trees everywhere he looks. He can’t even see the cabins or the others as he looks around. The absence of sound makes the forest more ominous and Jihun looks around in fear, trembling. Then he hears a familiar laugh belonging to a girl he hoped to never see again. He looks in the direction of the sound and sees his former stalker, Min Jee. Well, apparently not former because she’s standing right behind him with a creepy smile and a knife in her hand, saying that she found him. Unable to make any sound, Jihun sprints off in a random direction, not caring about the branches that cut his skin while he dashes past them. Min Jee is hot on his heels as he hears her laughing right behind him. He tries running faster, but it’s no use, she stays right behind him the whole time. Jihun’s muscles start burning and his lungs are screaming for air, but he refuses to stop running. Fate is not on his side, because in his hurry, he doesn’t notice the root and trips over it, falling down and rolling over the ground because of his momentum. In a split second, Min Jee is on top of him and pins him to the ground, her knife glinsters in the moonlight as she raises it. Jihun is frozen and she whispers something to him, making his eyes go wide for only a second before she lowers her knife suddenly, piercing his abdomen. Min Jee repeats the movement multiple times and keeps going until the lights leave Jihun’s eyes. Then she’s gone again, disappearing into the forest while giggling as her clothes are stained by Jihun’s blood._

Juro stares at the screen they were forced to watch the brutal execution on. He opens and closes his mouth at least twice, unable to find any words to say. He sinks to his knees, hugging his own body that now feels too cold after the young boy was suddenly ripped from his hold. Silent tears roll down his cheeks, but he can’t bring himself to fully cry, to heave the sobs that feel too overwhelming for his mind. He can’t do anything but stare blankly into nothingness.

Jihun was taken from them right after Kenji. Two people who were like lights in the darkness, the ones who made this place a little more bearable.

They’re gone now.

All that’s left is darkness and despair.

_Twelve/sixteen_


	15. Chapter 3 - Daily Life 1/4

It had already been dark outside when they returned from the trial with now yet another person missing, an empty space left behind in Jihun’s place. Most people scattered immediately, the majority of which returned back to their dorm rooms.

Juro sits on the edge of the fountain that also serves as the elevator to the dreaded trial grounds. He isn’t sure why he’s here, in a place which such dark memories attached to it. Perhaps that’s the very reason he was drawn to it when he woke up from that awful nightmare, so he could mourn the many losses they have suffered in a place that still harbours the darkness. It’s maybe the closest he might get to saying goodbye.

He didn’t bother checking on Kenji’s body to say goodbye. He knows it’s already gone.

According to Monokuma, Min Jee was gone from the grounds now, but Juro couldn’t shake off the unease and paranoia that still sends a shiver down his spine and makes his hands tremble. How long until Monokuma will emotionally manipulate them once more to commit one of the most horrid crimes that one person can inflict upon another? How long until they lose yet another friend? Until yet another gaping hole appears in their midst?

Juro wipes some of the graphite from the paper, before a droplet of water falls onto it, blurring a part of his work a little. He lifts a hand, it’s a little unsteady, and touches his damp cheeks.

“Huh…” Juro mutters.

He closes his sketchbook and tilts his head back, looking up at the night sky. It’s a clear night and although the moon still shines brightly, it doesn’t outshine the stars, little specks of light against a deep, dark blue. It’s peaceful… but at the same time it’s not. Everything just feels so wrong.

How can the world be so peaceful when everyone here feels nothing but dark clouds looming over them?

It just feels like a storm is coming and there’s nothing they can do to stop it.

“Sasaki-kun…”

At the mention of his name, Juro snaps his head to the side, his entire body going rigid, but there’s only Daichi “Takita-kun…”

The school idol smiles, but for the first time since their arrival here it just looks tired. Daichi had been one of the few people who always seemed to stay calm and very put together.

Now he just looks hollow, like a shell of his former self.

“I take it you couldn’t sleep either.” Daichi sits down on the edge of the fountain, folding his hands together and looking over at Juro.

The sketch artist bites his lip, contemplating for a moment if he should just hide it again, bury everything he’s feeling right now just so he can carry on for another day. But he eventually gives up, nodding “Yeah…”

The burden is too heavy to bear.

Daichi smiles a little as he gives a slow nod of his head “Me too…”

Silence washes over them, and this time Juro welcomes it. A cold breeze reminds him of the tears still staining his cheeks, so he slowly wipes them away. As he looks down at his damp fingertips, yet another droplet runs down his cheek.

“You know…” Daichi begins, exhaling a little. It’s a shaky breath, and he folds his trembling hands together tighter “it’s alright to feel upset right now, to be frustrated.” He looks at Juro, keeping a smile on his face, but his eyes shimmer a little too much in the moonlight “Jihun seemed to have been very fond of you, so I can only imagine how terrible the pain and loss must feel right now. Especially since…” He draws another shaky breath “Since he sought you out for comfort… in his final moments. It’s a heavy responsibility.”

At Daichi’s words, Juro can’t stop the tears from falling. He bites his lip and uses his sleeve to wipe them away, but they just keep coming. It’s like an endless stream of emotions that had been held in for too long is now finally being released, and sobs begin to shake his body. 

And Juro lets himself cry.

For the first time since he got stuck here, he allows the tears to flow, allows the sobs to wreck his body with heavy shocks. He allows it to hurt; the pain and fears and losses they have all endured and suffered through in this hell. It’s just too much. It overwhelms him, taking his senses and completely numbing him to anything but the despair he feels in that very moment.

He cries for Jihun. He cries for Kenji. He cries for Kaya. And he cries for Mana. All innocent people, teenagers, mere high schoolers who never asked to suffer the way they did. They were now lives lost, mere numbers in what will likely just become a sensational story recounting the tragedy of when the students from Hope’s Peak Academy started killing each other in a mutual killing game. Nobody will care about their names or faces, their hopes or dreams. To the world the entire being of everyone who lost their life to this cruelty will be reduced to this one event, and it would forever be the only thing people will remember them by.

Kenji and Mana as victims.

Jihun and Kaya as murderers.

No one will care about the circumstances that pushed people over the edge or who they were before they were forced into such an extreme situation.

He can’t let their memory be tainted, reduced to such a simple label.

Juro takes a breath, finally registering that Daichi is gently rubbing his back, having moved a little closer. He wipes away his tears again. This time they aren’t immediately replaced.

Sitting up straight again, he inhales deeply, feeling the air fill his lungs.

He’s still alive, still here.

He exhales and looks to the side, giving Daichi a smile “It’s a lot… but I think I’ll be okay.”

For the first time he believes his own words.

He can’t promise himself that it won’t hurt, that he won’t feel such an agonizing pain again if they lose yet another person...

But he can promise himself that he’ll allow himself to feel, to accept the pain… and to move on.

“Thank you.”

Daichi smiles a little at the expression of gratitude “Don’t worry about it. I’m the Ultimate School Idol for a reason.” He chuckles and brushes some hair out of his face.

It feels forced.

“Takita-kun…” Juro places a hand on Daichi’s shoulder “You know you don’t have to force yourself so you can be there for others either, right?”

This time Daichi’s expression falters, before he shifts his eyes away to look at the ground, folding his hands together. A sad smile appears on his face “I know…” He shrugs “But despite my talent, I’m not very good at relying on others.”

“You admitting that is a step in the right direction, right?” Juro smiles.

Daichi chuckles a little “I suppose.” He stays silent for a moment, the sad smile slowly fading as well until nothing but a solemn expression remains, his brows furrowed and eyes full of regret and unshed tears “I just feel… guilty.” Daichi places a hand over his chest, gripping the fabric of his button-up “Jihun discussed the plans for a performance with Akiyama-kun and I. I can’t help but wonder… if I had stopped it there, said no, would he and Yukimura-kun still be alive…?”

Juro frowns, pressing his lips together. Daichi doesn’t look at him yet, so he takes a moment to collect his thoughts and decide on which words to say “I think… that if it hadn’t been Yukimura-kun, it would’ve been someone else… I don’t think we could’ve saved Jihun… with how specifically that motive seemed to target him.”

Looking at Juro again, Daichi gives and slow and hesitant nod “I suppose that’s true.” He wipes a few tears away and sits up straight, adjusting his tie “I’m sorry. You’re dealing with much more than I am and I shouldn’t be troubling you with minor issues right now.”

“Takita-kun,” Juro waits for Daichi to look at him, “it’s okay. You shouldn’t bottle everything up. It just makes it worse.”

“Right.” Daichi nods, taking a breath before he smiles and stands up “Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, you know where to find me. I should really try to get some sleep before tomorrow, and you should as well.”

Juro nods “You’re right.”

“I usually am.” Daichi brushes some hair out of his eyes “Sleep well, Sasaki-kun.”

“You too.” Juro smiles a little.

He watches as Daichi leaves, waiting until he hears the door close and the sound of footsteps fades away. Juro looks back down at the sketchbook in his lap, slowly opening it again and flipping through it until he finds the page again. Some of the graphite is a little smudged where the tear fell, but it’s still unmistakable that it’s Jihun who’s smiling back at him from the page.

“I won’t forget you.” Juro mutters, looking up at the stars while he closes his sketchbook “I won’t forget any of you.”

He stands up, holding his sketchbook in his hand as he returns to his dorm room. Life won’t get any easier here, Monokuma will make sure of that.

But at least this time he’ll have the strength to face it.


	16. Chapter 3 - Daily Life 2/4

It’s quite late when they are finally all gathered in the morning for breakfast. It seems everyone needed their rest after yesterday’s trial, since even some of the students who are normally early arrive a little later.

Juro finds himself with Daichi and Hikaru, feeling a little awkward at the lack of Jihun’s cheerful and Kenji’s calm presence. The room felt emptier now that they were gone, the atmosphere heavier. It would take some time to get used to their absence.

Kaori is pushing around her food on her plate at one end of the table, with Ryoko next to her staring out the window. At the other end of the table, Hachiro is talking quietly to Youta. In the middle Mai is practically draped over the table with Chinami attempting to make small talk with Arisa, an effort that the knife thrower for once returns as she traces a line in the table with her knife. Eri and Minoru are sitting together as well, which has become the norm ever since they found each other during the first investigation and trial. Eri just pokes the ghost hunter’s forehead and he makes a face, much to her amusement.

Juro smiles a little at the scene. He had been a little worried about Minoru, since the ghost hunter got along well with Jihun, but he forgot that there is someone else who cares enough to try cheering Minoru up. Despite the fact that Eri has very unique ways of interacting with people, it seems to work rather well.

It’s quiet and the air is heavy, but at the same time it feels like things will be okay. No one is really alone right now, maybe with the exception of Mai, but she appears to be perfectly content taking a nap.

It’s more peaceful than the aftermath of the first trial.

Maybe they’re already growing numb to all the suffering and misery.

Juro shakes his head and forces the negative thoughts to go away. He looks at the two boys that are sitting closest to him and asks “Do you think Monokuma will show up again today to give us access to a new area?”

Hikaru runs his fingers through his hair “Good point actually. It hadn’t crossed my mind yet, but you might be right.”

“Then I suppose we should prepare ourselves to go explore today again.” Daichi muses, bringing a hand to his chin “As expected.”

Juro smiles a little. It might be an act, but Daichi seems to be acting like his usual self again. However, the sketch artist vividly remembers the kindness and vulnerability the school idol showed last night. It is nice in a way to know that there’s another side to Daichi. It makes him a little more humane compared to the way he seemed before.

“Well, if we have to explore today, let’s stick together.” Hikaru suggests with a smile as he folds his arms behind his head.

“Really?” Juro asks, sitting up a little straighter.

“If you want to, of course.” Hikaru shrugs, but keeps a smile on his face “I mean, most of the others seem to want to stick together already. Plus, I like you two, so why not?”

Juro smiles and nods “Alright then, count me in.”

“I’d be okay with it too.” Daichi says with a smile.

Hikaru grins “Alright then, it’s a plan.”

“Making plans already?” Eri asks, propping up an arm to rest her chin on her hand.

“Better safe than sorry, right?” Juro rubs the back of his neck, smiling a bit sheepishly.

Eri tilts her head a little, giving him a look before she smiles faintly “ _Sure_.”

“Eri, be nice.” Minoru lightly shoves her by placing a hand on her forehead.

“You should know by now that I don’t do nice.”

“You’re quiet compared to last time.” A voice no one likes to hear early in the morning speaks up “Is the despair finally setting in, I wonder. Upupupu~.”

“Go away. It’s too early for your bullshit.” Mai waves a hand, not even bothering to lift her head.

“It’s morning. _Of course_ everyone is going to be _all_ sunshine and rainbows first thing at the breakfast table when their very annoying kidnapper pops up uninvited.” Eri slowly turns her head towards Monokuma with the fakest smile one could possibly find. She drops her expression and gives the bear a blank stare “What do you want?”

Minoru covers his mouth, muffling what sounds like a laugh.

“How rude.” Monokuma sulks.

“Oh, I agree with her.” Arisa comments, lifting her knife and casually pointing it in Eri’s direction “You’re an absolute pain, so don’t expect me to be all chipper when I see you... Don’t expect me to be chipper to begin with.”

“See? She gets it.” Eri gestures at Arisa with one hand.

“I think we all do.” Hikaru muses.

“Shouldn’t we listen to what he has to say though?” Youta asks “Since we’d want to know the information?” He pulls up his scarf a little “That’s what Yukimura-kun said at least.”

It’s silent for a moment.

“He’s right…” Chinami mutters, looking at her hands that rest folded on the table “We should t-try to listen.”

“Fine…” Arisa begrudgingly mutters the agreement, resting her chin on her hand as she goes back to tracing lines in the table with her knife.

“Well, I never expected something smart to come from you.” Monokuma says.

“Me neither…” Kaori mutters.

“Seems you learned something from your beloved, and very dead, classmates. Upupupu.” The bear chuckles “Well, without further ado, as a reward for surviving a second trial, I got you a nice gift.” Monokuma presents it.

“A key…?” Hachiro questions.

“Figuring out what to use it for is up to you! If you can’t figure out this simple clue, there’s not much hope for the following trials, right?” Monokuma chuckles “I’ll be off then. Happy killing!”

Silence washes over the group once more as Juro stands up to pick up the key Monokuma left for them. The mention of following trials… it seems to be weighing on everyone’s minds right now. The prospect of losing more people, friends, and having to knowingly send yet another one to their death, a brutal and torturous death, it’s hard to accept that it might just happen all over again.

Minoru breaks the silence, standing up quickly and nearly knocking over a chair “The boats!”

“What?” Mai asks.

Minoru turns to her with a smile “The key! It’s to get access to the boathouse.” He looks at Juro “You remember it too, right? The doors were locked.”

“You might be right.” Juro agrees, nodding with a light smile.

“Never expected you to figure out a clue before everyone else did.” Eri comments, glancing up at Minoru from where she’s still seated.

“ _Thanks_ , Eri.” The ghost hunter huffs.

The doll maker just grins a little in response.

“Alright, alright.” Kaori sighs, pushing a few strands of hair behind her ear “Are we gonna stay here all day or are we gonna try this key?”

“Let’s go.” Hikaru grins.

~*~

Walking as a group, the twelve remaining students make their way to the boathouse, which isn’t too far from the main building. They stay silent throughout most of the short walk, being lead by Kaori. Only the soft thuds of their feet hitting the ground along with the rustling of leaves and gentle splashes of the water can be heard.

Once they make it to the boathouse, Kaori looks back at Juro and gestures at the door. He gives a nod, stepping forward to try the key, taking it from his pocket to do so. It’s a miracle he hasn’t lost it, honestly.

It takes a moment, but eventually the door swings open with a very audible creak.

Kaori is the first to step inside, followed by Juro, and the otologist messes around a little with something on the wall before the light suddenly turns on in the previously dark building. There’s only one small window on the wall that allows them to look over the boats and the lake, so there wasn’t much light before. As they have come to expect by this point, most of both the exterior and the interior are wood. Against one of the walls, shelves are lined up and decorated with a variety of items, mostly ships in bottles and a few books that look like they have done nothing but gather dust the past decade. A few nets hang on the wall, as well as fishing rods.

Kaori walks over to a desk in the boathouse, opening multiple drawers. Juro spots some metal fishhooks glinstering in the light before the drawer is closed. From the next drawer she opens, she grabs a bunch of keys that are gathered on one ring and walks to the entrance to throw it at Minoru.

“Here, here, you go unlock those things.” She says with a faint smile.

Minoru nods “Got it.”

He motions for the others to tag along and walks away.

Remembering the agreement to stick together, Daichi and Hikaru enter the boathouse, as well as Ryoko, while Kaori continues looking around.

“You’re not coming, Zayasu-san?” Hikaru asks.

Kaori stiffens for a moment, shutting the drawer a little more harshly “Nah, I hate water. Fuck water.” She looks at Ryoko and signs *You can go with the others, if you want. I’m gonna investigate this place.*

*I’m good.* Ryoko responds shortly *I’ll stay here. It’s probably safer that way.*

Kaori nods, turning mainly to look at Daichi and Hikaru “Yuuma-chan and I are staying here. We’ll investigate more thoroughly and let you know if we find anything.”

“Sounds like an excellent plan.” Daichi says with a smile and nod “We wish you luck with your endeavors then.”

“You too.”

Juro nods and makes eye contact with Ryoko for a moment, smiling as he signs *Stay safe.*

Ryoko hesitates for a moment before giving a brief nod *You too.*

“We’ll be on our way then.” Hikaru says, giving a wave with one hand while tucking the other in his pocket before walking out of the boathouse, followed by Juro and Daichi.

The others seem to have already left for the most part. Minoru and Eri are still unlocking the last few boats and removing the chains. The boats are still attached to the landing by ropes so they won’t drift off onto open water.

“Ah, you three need a ride too.” Eri looks up, standing up straight again as she holds she keys.

“That’s correct.” Daichi smiles.

“Well, the others already went ahead, so you’d better hurry if you want to catch up.” Minoru grins and adjusts his goggles with one hand.

“Oh, don’t worry, we will.” Hikaru smiles, cracking his knuckles.

“I’m guessing you two will join us later?” Juro asks.

Minoru nods “After we finish unlocking the boats and return this mess to the boathouse, we will.”

“We could’ve already been done if a certain someone weren’t so slow.” Eri comments with a smile, walking over to another boat to unlock it.

“Hey!”

“Well, we’ll see you later then.” Juro chuckles, waving at the two.

They exchange pleasantries before Hikaru gestures at the other two guys to take a seat in the boat, untying the rope before he climbs in himself and starts rowing. In that moment, Juro is glad he decided to stick with the tattoo artist, since Hikaru’s way above average height and strength allows them to cross the lake rather quickly.

“Do you guys think the fence goes around the whole thing?” Hikaru asks.

“It’s very likely. I think the boats were only meant to give us access to the island. It would be strange if Monokuma gave us such an easy escape.” Daichi muses, looking out over the water while resting his chin on a hand.

“Maybe it’d still be worth checking out though.” Juro suggests, leaning forward “I mean, it’d be a bit sad if there was an escape right under our nose the whole time and we didn’t notice.”

“Of course.” Daichi smiles, keeping his eyes closed while brushing a few strands of hair from his eyes “I expected you to figure as much, Sasaki-kun. That’s why I didn’t say it.”

“I’ll pretend I believe that.” Juro chuckles.

Daichi’s eyes widen for a moment, before his expression settles back on a smile, one that seems more relaxed than the one he usually wears.

It’s nice. The gentle rocking of the boat, the soft breeze and the splashing of the water brings a certain serenity, despite the predicament they have found themselves in. It’s both strange and quite pleasant. If it weren’t for Monokuma and the torment he brings upon them, Juro would have loved this place and being here, with the exception of the high likelihood of encountering a spider.

Hikaru steers the boat to the landing they see on the island now that they’re closer, where he ties the rope to one of the poles. Multiple boats are already there, but their other classmates are nowhere to be found. It seems they have already taken off to explore the island.

“Alright, let’s go.” Hikaru climbs out of the boat onto the landing and holds out a hand to pull the others up.

Daichi takes it first and is pulled out of the boat before Hikaru helps Juro out. The sketch artist thanks Hikaru, who just brushes it off with a smile.

“Shall we?” Daichi smiles before they walk off.

The forest is a little denser on this island than on the rest of the grounds they have been trapped on, but another dirt path allows them to traverse the forest fairly easily. The rustling of leaves is still noticable, but this time the chirping of birds mingles with it.

“Huh, it’s weird to hear birds all of a sudden.” Juro muses.

“Well, they’re pretty normal to hear in forests.” Hikaru says, glancing back at the sketch artist.

“That’s true, but we never heard them on the mainland, did we? Isn’t that a little odd?” Juro asks, picking up his pace a little so he doesn’t fall behind as the ground becomes a little steeper near this side of the island.

“Perhaps they prefer the denser forests?” Daichi suggests.

“Maybe.” Juro mutters, but he can’t shake the feeling that something is odd here “Let’s just keep going.”

Hikaru nods and they make their way to a set of stairs that leads to a tower on top of a likely artificial hill. It almost reminds him of a lighthouse, except it’s not high enough to reach above the trees, and like everything else here, it’s made of wood. Juro has to tilt his head back to look up at it, lifting a hand to shield his eyes from the sun.

“It’s almost strange how we never saw this from the mainland.” Hikaru muses, having placed his hands on his hips.

“Maybe we did, actually…” Juro mutters as he keeps looking up at the tower. He feels their eyes on him, so he continues “Yuuma-san saw light before…” He swallows, “everything happened. Maybe this is the source.”

“That would make sense.” Daichi agrees “Let’s see inside if we can confirm the theory.”

Juro nods, grabbing the doorknob to push the door open. A part of him expected it to be locked, but it opens with ease. There’s not much they can see from here, and the space inside is dimly lit, but a flight of stairs runs past the walls to the top of the tower. A ceiling prevents them from seeing any further. Mai is sitting on the bottom steps, using her propped up quiver to rest her chin on as she leans against the wall.

“Nakahara-san, are you alone?” Hikaru asks.

“Huh?” Mai blinks, squinting her eyes “Oh, hi you three. No, I tagged along with Fukui and Ebisu, they don’t move that fast, but when they decided to climb the stairs I noped out. I’m waiting here.”

Juro looks up at the stairs once more “I suppose that’s fair.”

“Do you know where the others went?” Daichi asks.

Mai shakes her head “Nah. Shikata and Kasai went to see if anything else was here. It’s only us three here.” She yawns “Those guys probably paid more attention than me, so I’d suggest talking to them.”

Juro nods “We will. Take care, Nakahara-san.”

Mai gives them a lazy thumbs up as they walk past her to climb the stairs. Juro leads the way, with Daichi behind him and Hikaru being the last one to ascend the stairs.

It’s a surprisingly long climb, leaving Juro and Daichi mostly out of breath, while Hikaru seems unbothered by the exercise. At the top of the staircase, while they’re catching their breath, they do indeed see a sort of lamp in the centre of the room. It seems big enough to let its light reach the other buildings that they spent most of their time at. There are large openings in all four walls as well, letting the wind blow through. Youta is leaning with one hand on the edge, having one hand placed on his chest and he seems to still be trying to catch his breath, while Hachiro is looking through the openings, mostly against the trees.

Taking note of dead leaves that have been blown into the corners, Juro approaches Youta “You okay, Fukui-kun?”

The natural healer gives a nod “Yeah just… climbing these stairs isn’t for me.”

“You should’ve stayed behind with Nakahara-san…” Hachiro mutters, patting Youta’s shoulder while he himself keeps his gaze mostly on the floor.

“The stairs looked… shorter than they actually were.” Youta responds, taking a deep breath before standing up straight “I’ll be fine just… give me a moment.”

“Maybe you should work out more.” Hikaru suggests, patting Youta’s back.

Youta adjusts his mask “It’s not like that, Akiyama-kun... My body just doesn’t function properly.”

“Ah, sorry.” Hikaru rubs the back of his neck “My bad then.”

“Someone has to ask it, but did you two manage to discover anything here?” Daichi asks “Nakahara-san refered us to you when we asked her about it.”

“This place almost looks like a lighthouse…” Hachiro mutters “But it wouldn’t be very efficient, since the trees reach higher than the tower…”

Juro nods “Yeah, we noticed too from the outside.”

“Maybe it used to be a lighthouse before?” Youta wonders, looking outside “But then the trees became too tall?”

“The tower seems to be in good condition though.” Daichi mutters.

“Maintenance, maybe?” Juro looks at the school idol with a shrug, before heaving a sigh “A lot is strange here.”

Hachiro nods “You noticed it too, huh…? This place is weird…”

“It does seem a bit off in some ways.” Youta shrugs “There’s not a lot to see here though…” He sighs “I should prepare myself to get down the stairs again…”

“Want me to carry you?” Hikaru offers “I can do that if it makes things easier for you.”

Youta nods “Yes please.”

After letting Youta climb onto his back, Hikaru leads the way as they descend the stairs, followed by Hachiro while Juro and Daichi follow last. At the bottom of the stairs, Mai is still waiting and she gives them a lazy wave with one hand, not even looking at them. Hikaru crouches down again so Youta can climb off, receiving a thanks from the natural healer. They exchange pleasantries before their small groups separate once more.

On their way back to the boats, Juro tries to see if there are any other paths that might lead to different locations on the island. However, he doesn’t see any, but he does spot two people in the distance.

“Shikata-san. Kasai-san.” He waves at them, smiling a little despite the glare Arisa throws right back at him.

“Hi, everyone.” Chinami stops in her tracks and looks back with a smile, causing the knife thrower to stop as well. The figure skater tugs on her poncho a little as her cheeks flush pink “How’s your investigation g-going?”

“It’s going quite well, I must say. How about yours?” Daichi asks with his usual charming smile.

“If you’re gonna try smooth-talking, jump into the lake now before I can push you in.” Arisa sighs “We tried seeing if there was anything else here, but there’s only a path that leads to that tower.” She nods in the direction they just came from, pointing a knife at it as well.

“We c-can’t look further than maybe a few metres into the forest. It’s too d-dense so going in is probably too d-dangerous.” Chinami adds, rubbing her wrist with one hand.

“Then we probably should let it be for now.” Juro mutters, looking at the forest before he smiles at the two girls “Thank you.”

Chinami gives a shy smile of her own, before casting her eyes down again.

“Isn’t it weird?” Hikaru mutters as they walk back to the landing “Why give us access to an island with just a tower? Why would we come here again.”

“Murder.” Arisa says briefly without even looking back, her hand rests on Chinami’s shoulder as she guides the figure skater along “It’d take longer for people to find a body here. Also, maybe there’s more we’ll only get access to after a trial.”

 _‘Right, after every trial Monokuma opens up more areas…’_ Juro bites his lip _‘The price for more ground… lives.’_

“That’s… morbid.” Hikaru sighs.

Arisa shrugs “Welcome to a killing game. That dumb bear _is_ morbid.”

A monitor attached to a tree comes to life, showing Monokuma’s irritated face “I heard that.”

“Good.” Arisa flips Monokuma off, without even looking in the direction of the monitor, and just continues walking.

“Well, if we just plan well and stay together, maybe it won’t get that far.” Daichi sighs “We have a common enemy here. We should focus on that.”

Arisa sighs, but Chinami looks back with a nod “You’re r-right, Takita-kun. We should all do our b-best.”

Daichi smiles back at her “I’m happy to hear that you agree, Shikata-san. Unity is the most important now.”

Chinami smiles back a little before she looks ahead again.

 _‘I really hope it’s that simple, Takita-kun.’_ Juro glances at the school idol. He exhales softly and looks ahead.

They know what Monokuma is capable of. They have seen him manipulate someone as cheerful and innocent as Jihun into committing a crime as horrid as murder. Who is to say he won’t do it all over again.

All they can do is hope.


	17. Chapter 3 - Daily Life 3/4

The next day, the morning announcement plays, waking Juro from a sleep haunted by nightmares. He sits up with a groan, rubbing his face when he notices something lying on the ground in front of his door, as if someone slipped it underneath.

 _‘I don’t remember dropping a piece of paper…’_ Juro climbs out of bed and walks to the peculiar object to take a closer look at it.

An envelope.

Staring at the object in his hands, Juro swallows the lump that’s starting to form in his throat as he tightens his grip on the envelope, creasing the paper a little. His heart drops when he turns the envelope around and notices a wax seal with a logo that includes a shape he recognizes to be Monokuma’s red eye. Just above it a few words have been written.

_Anyone who doesn’t open this envelope and reads its contents will be punished!_

The message is ended with a smiley face, which only serves to add to the tension that Juro feels is weighing him down. He sits back down on his bed in a less than elegant manner, resting his elbows on his knees while heaving a sigh. What he assumes to be the next motive might be a physically small message, but it will most likely have a great impact on everyone’s mental state. It might even cost them yet another life.

Taking a breath, Juro works up the courage and breaks the seal to open the envelope. Inside is a folded piece of paper, which he takes out and unfolds, discarding the envelope by his side.

_Hello to whoever is reading this! I hereby present you the third motive of the Killing Game._

_Yuuma Ryoko, such a cold and quiet girl, never showing how she feels. Ever wondered why she is like that? Her best and only friend died of cancer when she was fifteen, and she never got to say goodbye to her._

**_This is Yuuma Ryoko’s biggest regret in life._ **

_I wonder what else she is hiding behind that tough exterior. I wouldn’t trust her, if I were you._

Juro grips the paper tightly as he presses his lips together. Even though they’re under threat to read this, it feels like such a massive invasion of privacy. It’s almost as if he shattered the little trust he managed to build with Ryoko over time by reading this, something she likely intended to keep a secret, especially in a place such as this.

The bold sentence stares back at him. Has someone else received _his_ biggest regret in life? Who? Are these targeted at specific people or handed out at random? Would such secrets be enough to convince one of them to kill another person?

Juro furrows his brows and rubs the side of his head as all these questions race through his mind, although they remain unanswered. This was something Monokuma came up with to trigger yet another murder. There had to be at least someone with a regret bad enough to push someone over the edge. Or at the very least this motive will create enough distrust so something else can push one of them to commit murder. One of these has to be it. Monokuma seems to know everything about them, their homelives, their families, their past trauma. The twisted bear has to know exactly which buttons to push in order to give someone that final push to commit murder.

But who will it be this time?

Shaking his head to get the thought out of his head, Juro gets up and shoves the letter in a drawer. He doesn’t want to accidentally lose it so someone else may stumble across it. The least he can do ensure is someone else’s secret won’t be leaked even further than what Monokuma has already done.

After rushing through his morning routine, Juro leaves his room to meet up with the others at the main building. At least, he hopes the others will be there. They might not be. Paranoia is running high right now, so it’s very possible some people will withdraw themselves and hide in their rooms.

Multiple people are there already, but if their expressions are anything to go by, no one is feeling too well. Arisa is twirling a knife around in her hand, glaring at the table. Chinami fidgets with her poncho while seemingly trying to figure out what to say to the knife thrower. Youta adjusts his face mask a little too often and Hachiro’s gaze seems permanently locked on the floor now. Daichi is quiet and Ryoko is practicing her cardistry but sometimes grips her cards so tightly the paper practically digs into her skin. Eri and Minoru seem to be trying to cheer each other up a little, although they both have frowns on their faces.

“Ah, morning, Sasaki-kun.” Hikaru greets when he also walks into the room. Even he looks a bit worn and tired.

“Good morning.” Juro returns, smiling a little.

Him and the tattoo artist sit down, falling into silence as well while they wait for Kaori and Mai to arrive and complete the group. It doesn’t take too long for the two girls to arrive, with Kaori slamming the door shut behind them while Mai faceplants on the tabel as soon as she sits down.

After a few more moments of awkward silence and Juro tapping his fingers on the table he looks up and asks “So what are we gonna do?”

The others, with the obvious exception of Hachiro, look up at him while Arisa eventually asks “What do you mean by that?”

“You mean how are we going to prevent a murder, Sasaki-kun.” Daichi muses, phrasing it more like a statement than a question.

“Is that even going to change anything…?” Eri asks with a heavy sigh, having placed her head on Minoru’s shoulder at this point “We failed the last few times we tried that.”

“Hanai-san has a point…” Hachiro mutters “Is it worth trying anymore…?”

Silence.

Juro breathes in, before pressing his lips together in a thin line. He folds his hands together, resting them on the table as he looks down “I want to try. I’d rather try and fail than never having tried at all.” He might have not said that in the past, but he believes his own words this time around “If what we do might make a difference between life and death for someone, it’s worth a shot, right?”

He looks up again, looking around the group to make eye contact with the others.

Kaori translates the words to Ryoko, who then is the first to speak up, after typing what she wants to say on her Monopad first “Monokuma is gonna use anything we do and any stuff we attempt to end this game to just make us suffer more. The more we care, the more we try, the more he’ll hurt us. Are you okay with that?”

She looks Juro in the eye, almost like she’s trying to catch a glimpse of his thoughts, when he gives her a nod, signing along when he speaks this time “It’s okay if you don’t want to, but I can handle it.”

Ryoko gives a nod and types out the next sentence “Alright then. What’s the plan?”

“We can stick together more.” Hikaru suggests, running a hand through his hair, messing it up a little “Safety in numbers.”

“D-do we want to talk about the motive we r-received?” Chinami asks, rubbing her wrist.

“Let’s not.” Minoru sighs “These things are very personal. It’s bad enough that one person knows it. I don’t think we should share something like that with the whole group.”

“Agreed, I don’t think most of us want everyone to know our biggest regret in life.” Youta sighs, and most people nod in agreement.

“What about sharing who received who’s regret?” Mai mutters “In case people do want to know?”

“Let’s not.” Daichi exhales, brushing some hair out of his face “It might help in the short term, but it could also become a reason for people to target each other, to ensure that their regret won’t get out.”

Juro nods “Yeah…”

“And hearing these things could upset people all over again.” Kaori looks away while brushing a strand of hair behind her ears “That’s why Uehara-chan killed Ishikawa-chan, right, right? Because she was upset.” She sighs, crossing her arms to look at the others “I can’t guarantee I wouldn’t punch someone if they said just the wrong words while talking to me about that shit. So let’s not talk about it at all. People might get angry and lash out.”

“Yeah, I don’t want that to happen again…” Hachiro mutters as he looks away, clenching a fist over his chest. Youta places a hand on his shoulder.

“None of us do.” Juro smiles a little, but his eyes remain sad “So let’s work together to prevent it, okay?”

The others nod in agreement. Mai sighs, resting her chin on her hand as she stares at the wall “So sticking together and not talking about our motives. Got it.”

“Is something still troubling you, Nakahara-san?” Daichi asks.

Mai gives a wave of her hand “Not sure if not talking’s the best idea, but whatever. Also, I’m just tired, as usual. Monokuma played some stupid extra announcement telling me to check the motive.”

“That sounds a lot better than having that bear pop into your dorm room.” Kaori makes a face, keeping her arms crossed.

“Yeah, I think we can all agree that has to be the worst way to wake up.” Arisa says.

“Yeah…” Eri nods. She sits up straight popping a joint in her shoulder “Yay, knowing this random creepy teddy bear can just pop into your room while you sleep. _Fun_. I’m definitely gonna sleep well tonight now.”

Hikaru chuckles “I think all of us are. That’s knowledge I could’ve lived without.”

“It’s knowledge that makes me need mind bleach.” Arisa deadpans.

Chinami laughs softly “Yeah, I think I’d r-rather not have known either.”

“Monokuma, you creep!” Minoru exclaims, looking at the security camera in this room.

Juro smiles a little, resting his chin on his hand as he looks around while the group continues cracking jokes about Monokuma being a creepy old man. To his surprise, the bear doesn’t show up to defend his honour, but nobody complains.

The air is still tense, the stress isn’t gone, but it’s good that they’re still able to laugh.

As long as they can keep on smiling, maybe they’ll be okay.

~*~

After a while of talking among themselves, the group splits up once more, everyone going their own way. Juro returns to his room for a moment to sketch for a moment, before he decides to head out to meet with some of his classmates. Maybe he can hang out with someone, get to know them a little better.

Juro heads to the fountain, where he had his conversation with Daichi after the second trial. As he had hoped, he does indeed find the school idol there.

While Juro descends the stairs, the creaking of wood alerts Daichi, who looks up from the water he had been staring at and turns around to look behind him “Hello, Sasaki-kun.”

“You can just call me Juro, if you want.” The sketch artist smiles, walking up to stand next to Daichi.

“Juro, then.” Daichi smiles a little “In that case, just use my first name as well.”

Juro nods “Alright, Daichi.”

The fall into a comfortable silence for a moment, watching ripples form in the water as droplets go everywhere. It’s strange. The water is crystal clear, the sunlight only serving to make it almost perfectly transparent. If one looks closely they might see a rainbow where the light hits the droplets from the fountain. Yet, this is also the place that brings them so much pain every single time with the trials.

Juro would almost forget about that with how beautiful it looks in broad daylight.

“Have you been doing okay?” Juro eventually asks, recalling the last conversation they shared.

Daichi heaves a sigh, brushing some hair out of his face as he tilts his head back to look up at the clear blue sky “I’ve been managing. It’s a bit difficult, the absence of Jihun’s cheerful energy is tangible, but I’ll be okay.” Daichi smiles.

“Yeah, I get that.” Juro nods “I miss him too… all of them.”

“You’re on the right track, Juro.” Daichi hums “Keeping everyone together… the best we can do now is prevent this from ever happening again. It’s what the ones who passed would’ve wanted.” He locks eyes with Juro, smiling “You really stepped up when Yukimura-kun died to unite the group. Thank you for that. I wish I was as strong as you.”

“Well, it’s partly thanks to you that I’m able to do this sort of thing.” Juro smiles to himself, looking at the ground as he kicks away some dirt “Being able to let out my stress helped a lot, so thank you.”

“Of course, people always feel better if they don’t bottle up their emotions. It’s human nature to seek out support from others.”

“You know a lot about people and understanding them.” Juro muses “I’m guessing that’s how you became the Ultimate School Idol?”

“For the most part, yes.” Daichi exhales, looking up at the sky again “I’m from a large family, so there was never much attention from my parents throughout my upbringing. Because of that, I learned how interact with my peers. It allowed me to still get the social interaction I needed to make up for what I lacked at home. Nobody likes feeling lonely, after all.” Daichi laughs a little, rubbing the back of his neck “Sorry, I didn’t meant to bring down the mood like that.”

Juro smiles, shaking his head “It’s okay. You didn’t ruin the mood. Like you said, sometimes we just need to get stuff off our chests, right?”

“Right.” Daichi chuckles “I should try taking my own advice more. I do give excellent advice after all.”

Although he agrees with the statement, Juro decides not to mention that. Despite his tough upbringing, Daichi seems quite confident in himself and who he is. There is no need to fuel his ego.

The boys continue talking for a bit, although most of their time is spend in silence, looking at the sky. Daichi’s presence is soothing, his aura has a pretty calming effect on people.

Juro is confident they have grown a little closer.

After bidding goodbye to Daichi, Juro heads to the main building where he finds Hachiro in the kitchen.

“Hi, Ebisu-kun.” Juro greets.

Hachiro nearly drops the glass he has been holding, but when he looks behind him and sees Juro, he relaxes again “Sasaki-kun, I hadn’t expected to see you.”

“Sorry for startling you.” Juro rubs the back of his neck with a smile “I hadn’t expected to see you either.” The sketch artist picks up a glass, filling it with water before he asks “How… are you doing?”

He hasn’t talked to Hachiro for a while, Youta has kind of filled the role of being a shoulder to lean on since the first trial, so he figures he should check in on him.

“I’ve been… okay.” Hachiro mutters, fidgeting with the strap of his backpack “Fukui-kun has been a good… friend…”

Juro smiles a little and nods “I’m glad to hear that.” He sighs “I’m sorry that I… haven’t really been a good friend though. I should’ve checked in with you after the trial…”

Hachiro blinks, lifting his head a little to look at the sketch artist. He’s silent for a moment, but eventually he says “It’s okay. You were grieving as well… Besides, you’re under no obligation to help me…”

“Still, it feels like just kind of abandoning you wasn’t the right thing to do, so I wanted to apologize for that.” Juro pats Hachiro’s shoulder “We’re all going through a lot, but that doesn’t make your hardships any less important. We’re in this together.”

Hachiro smiles a little, keeping his gaze locked on the ground “Yeah… We should work together… it’s what Ishikawa-san would’ve wanted.”

Juro nods, falling into silence for a moment. He isn’t sure what else to say.

However, eventually, Hachiro says “Sasaki-kun.”

“Yeah?” Juro looks up.

“Thank you.” Hachiro smiles lightly, making eye contact for a brief second before looking away again “I can see… the effort you’ve been putting into it all. You help with keeping us united instead of divided. I think everyone would’ve been proud of you…”

Juro smiles, scratching his cheek a little. Before, he might have denied the compliments, or tried to play them down, but now he has learned to accept them.

“Thanks…” He drops his hand again “I’m sure Ishikawa-san would be proud of you too.” He smiles “You’re relying on others, working with us… You contribute a lot to the group too. Don’t forget that, Ebisu-kun.”

“I’ll try…” Hachiro mutters, cheeks flushed pink. He picks up two cups of tea “I’m going to join Fukui-kun again, before he gets worried… Would you… like to join us…?”

Juro smiled, but shakes his head “I think I’ll see you at dinner later. Take care, Ebisu-kun.”

“You too…” Hachiro gives a nod before leaving the kitchen.

It seems safe to say that they grew a little closer as well.


	18. Chapter 3 - Daily Life 4/4

After staying for a moment after dinner, Juro is on his way to his room when someone suddenly steps into the hallway, blocking his path.

“Yuuma-san…” Juro breathes, placing a hand over his chest and heaving a sigh of relief *You startled me.*

Ryoko signs a half-hearted apology, expression blank, and gives a light shrug of her shoulders. She brings an index finger to her lips, holding it there for a brief moment, before she starts signing *Since you’re busy playing leader, you might’ve not noticed it yet…* She pauses, glancing up to see if he’s registering her words, before she continues *Things are tense.*

Juro sighs *Isn’t that to be expected with the motive having been released?*

*I may not be able to hear, but I watch the group.* Ryoko points out *I can’t put my finger on it, I can’t read minds or predict the future, but something seems off. I figured since you’re kind of the reliable one during trials, I should tell you to prepare yourself for one.*

Juro presses his lips together into a thin line. He doesn’t like where this is going *You think someone’s going to die soon…*

*Obviously.* Ryoko deadpans *You tried, but with the way things are, it’s just not going to change anything. So don’t be so disappointed that you can’t function when it comes to that.*

Juro exhales. He doesn’t want it to come to that, but Ryoko has a point as well. He should be prepared for the worst, be ready to fight for everyone’s lives, if push comes to shove. However, it was worth trying. He won’t go back on that decision, he won’t regret it, even if someone still ends up dying despite everything they have done to prevent it.

*I still won’t regret my decision.* Juro signs, looking Ryoko in the eye.

He swears the corner of her lips twitches for a moment, before she gives a curt nod *Alright.*

*Ah, Yuuma-san.* Juro signs before he loses her attention *I received your… regret.*

Ryoko facepalms. Once she lowers her hand she gives him a look *We don’t talk about that motive. Everyone agreed on that. Don’t go around breaking your own makeshift rules.*

*I believe that you won’t hurt me.*

*Horrible idea.* Ryoko sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose *I may be this short, weak, deaf girl, but I could easily take a knife and plant it in your back with how stupidly trusting you are sometimes.*

Juro smiles a little *You would’ve done that by now then.*

Ryoko blinks a few times, but her expression remains mostly unreadable *Idiot.*

The sketch artist just shrugs *Don’t worry, I won’t mention the motive again. You can trust me on that, or try to at least.*

*We’ll see.* Ryoko takes a few steps back *You’re weird, Sasaki Juro.*

She’s about to turn around when he signs *Do you want me to walk with you to the dorms? Safety in numbers.*

Ryoko doesn’t respond for a moment, but eventually she nods and gestures for him to come along. They walk side by side as the sun begins to set, not exchanging any more words. Juro wishes the cardist well once they reach the dorms and, after a moment of hesitation, she returns the gesture.

Once he has locked the door behind him, Juro walks to the desk and grabs the letter the motive has been written on. It’s still folded, keeping him from reading what’s written on it. It’s not necessary for him to read it anyways. He doubt he can ever forget its contents.

Pressing his lips into a thin line, Juro holds up the letter and tears it in half. He gathers the pieces into a stack and rips them apart again, and again, and again.

When the only thing that remains of the motive are tiny pieces that could likely never be put together again in a way that would be readable, Juro throws them in the bin next to his desk. He takes off his shoes and falls onto his bed with a heavy sigh, staring up at the ceiling with his hands folded over his chest. Today has been a long day and he feels drained, but he doesn’t want to fall asleep yet to avoid ruining his sleeping schedule.

So much has happened these past few days. So many lives have been lost, so many secrets unveiled and yet there are still many left for the to uncover. Why them? What horrible thing could they have done to deserve such a fate? Who is doing this to them?

There has to be _someone_ controlling Monokuma, right?

Juro manages to stay awake for a while, these thoughts and questions plaguing his mind, but eventually sleeps comes for him. He drifts off, once more sinking into the endless abyss filled with nightmares of familiar faces and the same painful memories that will forever haunt him.

~*~

The next morning, Juro doesn’t wake up to the morning announcement.

Bing bong, dong ding!

“A body has been discovered! Please assemble at the main building.”

Juro nearly falls out of bed while he gets up, quickly putting on his shoes and grabbing his backpack before he rushes out of his room. He nearly runs straight into Minoru, stumbling backwards in surprise and grabbing the doorknob to stay on his feet.

“Sasaki-kun, sorry.” The ghost hunter quickly apologizes, before rushing over to one of the nearby doors, rapidly knocking on it “Eri!”

Silence.

At the desperation with which Minoru keeps knocking on the door, Juro can feel his heart sink. If there’s no response now, there likely won’t be any other response in the future. If Eri opened the door for anyone, no questions asked, it would have to be Minoru.

And yet it just stays silent.

“Eri…” Minoru mutters, gritting his teeth and resting his forehead against the door “Shit…”

Juro places a hand on Minoru’s shoulder, biting the inside of his cheek and looking at the floor, before he dares to speak “Let’s go… Maybe she’s just already at the… crime scene, and if not…”

He doesn’t dare finishing that sentence. They both understand the implications of it.

Minoru quickly wipes away the tears that gather in the corners of his eyes and looks up at Juro with a moment of hesitation, almost as if he’s begging the sketch artist to tell him that this is all just a silly prank, before he nods. Juro heaves a sigh, keeping his hand on Minoru’s shoulder as they start walking. They don’t talk. Minoru keeps his lips tightly pressed together, nervously fidgeting with the flashlight on his belt. The only sound that accompanies them is of their footsteps and their breathing.

They’re still breathing, someone else isn’t.

The door to the main building is still open, and when they walk into the hallway, they can see the scene where Chinami, Arisa, Ryoko, Youta and Hachiro have already gathered.

There’s blood everywhere.

It’s splattered on the walls, gathered in a large pool on the floor, making a trail through the cafetaria.

And among the blood, with what looks to be a kitchen knife lodged into their abdomen, someone’s body just lays there.

Juro holds his breath for a moment. It’s like something is crushing his chest.

“D-Daichi…?”


End file.
